Professionals providing compliance advice to insurers expect salary bump after Solvency II December 1, 2016 Compliance professionals are getting a pay rise next year on the back of new EU regulation, according to research seen exclusively by City A.M. According to the Robert Half salary guide 2017, these will be the financial services professionals getting some of the biggest pay increases next year. Read more: Salary sacrifice schemes hit in Hammond's [...]
Britain’s new industrial strategy must not drown out the voices of emerging sectors January 24, 2017 The government has published its long-awaited industrial strategy – its 10 point plan for building a robust economy in the face of economic change, increasing automation and the unknown impact of leaving the EU. Wrapped up in its 125 pages is a strong focus on innovation-led growth, including clarity on the £4.7bn of additional funding [...]
Financial advisers rile at plans to shift offshore tax notification burden November 23, 2016 Financial advisers will have to tell UK authorities about clients' complex offshore tax structures, according to new government proposals. Today's Autumn Statement contained plans to consult "on a new legal requirement for intermediaries arranging complex structures for clients holding money offshore to notify HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) of the structures and the related client lists". Read more: Brexit [...]
A rising Dow lifts all boats higher around the world’s exchanges as Australian stocks make big gains November 23, 2016 The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 19,000 for the first time ever on Tuesday driven by the election of Donald Trump and rising oil prices, leading to continued gains on stocks around the world. As Japanese exchanges enjoyed a public holiday focus turned overnight to Australia, where the S&P/ASX 200 recorded gains of 2.56 [...]
Autumn Statement 2015: Stamp duty surcharge on buy-to-let properties will hit tenants not landlords, claims Blick Rothenberg November 26, 2015 George Osborne's three per cent surcharge on buy-to-let properties will harm tenants rather than landlords, chartered accountant Blick Rothenberg has claimed. Announced as part of yesterday's Autumn Statement, the charge has been branded a "badly-timed mistake", which could have the unintended consequence of pushing rental rates up, as landlords look to offset the higher costs they [...]
Revealed: The “deeply worrying” decline of buy-to-let sales after the government’s “war on landlords” December 9, 2016 Sales of buy-to-let homes have plummeted more than half in the last 12 months, after the government launched a "war on landlords". Figures by estate agent Haart showed the number of properties sold as rental homes in England and Wales fell 63.7 per cent in the year to November, while the number of landlords registering [...]
Cigarette firms fear minimum price tax plans November 6, 2016 The tobacco industry is concerned that chancellor Philip Hammond could introduce a so-called tax floor on cigarettes in the autumn statement this month. It’s thought the chancellor could bring in plans first floated by his predecessor George Osborne that could see the cost of even the cheapest pack of cigarettes rise to £8.68 — a [...]
Autumn Statement 2015: Treasury documents reveal new details about planned RBS, Lloyds, Northern Rock sales November 25, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne may not have mentioned returning British banks to private ownership in his statement to parliament this afternoon, but buried in the Treasury's official Spending Review and Autumn Statement documents are new details about plans for selling off the government's stake in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds. Noting that the government is "committed to [...]
Autumn Statement 2015: George Osborne just “opened the door” to Northern Ireland setting its own corporation tax November 25, 2015 George Osborne has "opened the door" to devolving corporation tax in Northern Ireland – and already other nations are saying they want it too. In today's Autumn Statement, the chancellor revealed that talks that concluded last week meant there would be "additional spending power for the executive to support the full implementation of the Stormont [...]
Autumn Statement 2015: Everything you need to know about the apprenticeship levy to raise £3m from businesses November 25, 2015 George Osborne today announced an apprenticeship levy, to help fund employer apprenticeship schemes and "invest in Britain's future." What is it? The levy will be introduced in April 2017 at a rate of 0.5 per cent of an employer’s paybill, and will deliver three million apprenticeships starting by 2020. In the last parliament, 2.4 million apprenticeships were delivered by the government. Employers [...]