Author Archives: myersclark

The revelations in early April about offshore companies and investment funds based in Panama have turned the spotlight on tax avoidance and evasion, as well as secret financial dealings in general.

BHS’ fate is to be decided later today with an announcement from their administrators. Since the announcement of their administration in April, there have been continuing efforts to save it and prevent its 11,000 staff from losing their jobs.

The new Lifetime ISA (LISA), which was announced in the March Budget and will be available from April 2017, will be a very attractive proposition. The LISA could even be a forerunner of future pensions.

Tens of millions of pounds in VAT and corporation tax has not been collected by the government. HMRC changed its bank details in February without informing all businesses, which has resulted in a number of firms receiving late payment penalty notices and uncertainty about how to pay.

“R3 welcomes the government’s proposal to introduce a moratorium for struggling businesses to give them breathing space from creditor pressure. A moratorium could give company directors more time to turn a business around and negotiate with their creditors.”

The capital gains tax (CGT) measures announced in the March Budget are generally good news for investors.

HMRC has published draft guidance on the new statutory exemption for trivial employer-provided benefits in kind. The new regime will see an employer to employee benefit in kind exempt from tax according to newly specified conditions

Data from Legal and General (L&G) has revealed that parents will lend £5bn to their children in 2016 to get them onto the property ladder.

R3, the insolvency trade body, has released new advice stating that companies in financial difficulty should be given up to six weeks of breathing space from creditor pressure to plan their recovery or rescue.

The newspapers continue to be flooded with stories about the Mossack Fonseca papers revelation. One senior politician has described the furore as a “witch-hunt” which might turn individuals away from tax planning.