Is Rachel Reeves planning a £24bn pension tax raid? October 1, 2024 It has been reported that the Treasury is considering what could amount to a £24bn pension tax raid as Rachel Reeves tries to plug her £22bn budget black hole. The Chancellor has reportedly been looking at tax relief on pension contributions, specifically, employers’ national insurance relief. There are two forms of national insurance. Employees, paid [...]
Soaring travel agent insolvencies just ‘the tip of the iceberg’ November 7, 2021 Insolvencies of UK travel agents and tour operators have leaped in the last year. Audit and tax firm Mazars said insolvencies jumped 17 per cent from 59 to 69. In July, sector insolvencies rose from one to nine. Experts have pointed to the end of furlough as something that could place additional pressure on the [...]
Proposals to relax rules for small banks in UK a ‘game-changer’ despite US regional banking crisis May 30, 2023 Experts were quick to praise proposals to relax rules on smaller domestic banks as the consultation on the so-called ‘strong and simple regime’ came to an end today. The proposals include simplifying disclosure and liquidity rules for domestically focused banks with less than £15bn in assets.. The rules, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) said, aim [...]
GSK to inject £1bn into new vaccines, as demerger leaves it with ‘less distractions’ June 23, 2022 GSK has announced it will inject £1bn into the research and development of infectious diseases over the next decade, just weeks after a major demerger. The British pharmaceutical giant will focus on diseases that disproportionately impact lower-income countries, in a move predicted by analysts since GSK split from its consumer healthcare division, now a separate [...]
Insolvencies at ‘jaw dropping’ level as debt industry warns UK economy ‘is not out of the woods yet’ April 18, 2023 More companies in England and Wales entered insolvency during March than at any point since monthly records started three years ago, according to official data that showed a 16 per cent increase on a year ago. The Insolvency Service reported 2,457 corporate insolvencies last month, up from 1,784 in February. The rate of companies falling into insolvency [...]
Banking crisis reinforces need for ringfencing as government’s consultation comes to an end May 8, 2023 Experts have warned that the recent banking stresses demonstrate the importance of the ringfencing regime as the government’s consultation comes to an end. Treasury ministers are keen to push forward with changes to how banks are forced to separate their retail and commercial activities with, for instance, investment banking operations – reducing the number of [...]
British Steel confirms 260 jobs at risk amid coke oven closures February 22, 2023 British Steel announced 260 jobs are at risk amid proposals to close its coke ovens at its plant in Scunthorpe. The firm said the UK remains “uncompetitive” compared to rival markets with energy and carbon costs “some of the highest” globally. It said it had seen a £190m rise last year and the facilities were [...]
Fraud convictions on the up as post-Covid-19 crackdown begins November 1, 2021 An increase in post-Covid-19 fraud checks by the Insolvency Service has seen the number of company directors convicted of fraud spike, according to new research. The number of directors convicted of criminal activity has increased to 122 in the year to the end of September, a 205 per cent hike on 2020 levels. Mazars, the [...]
Banks write-off £99m in loans to hotels and restaurants September 6, 2021 There has been a 65 per cent uptick in write-offs of loans to restaurants and hotels during the pandemic, Banks have written off £99m in the year to March 2021, up from £60m the previous year, according to research by international audit firm Mazars. Write-offs in lending to the leisure sector have began to rise [...]
Binance ‘temporarily pauses’ stablecoin withdrawals after run December 13, 2022 Binance has registered $1.9 billion of withdrawals in the past 24 hours, blockchain data firm Nansen said on Tuesday, as the world’s biggest crypto exchange said it had “temporarily paused” withdrawals of the USDC stablecoin. How crypto exchanges such as Binance and its now-bankrupt former rival FTX handle customer deposits is under close scrutiny from [...]