Mark McLaughlin, editor of TaxationWeb has argued in the editorial of his latest newsletter that:
Personally, I have always been a supporter of pre-transaction clearance procedures, such as those in respect of the purchase of own shares for Capital Gains Tax purposes. HMRC will no doubt point to a lack of resources as the main reason [...]
Nigel Harris at AccountingWEB makes the interesting observation that E&Y, PWC and KPMG are all claiming to be the biggest audit firm in the UK.
To their credit Deloittes settle for the number 2 slot, by their own admission. In fairness, that pretty much matches what I’m gathering of Deloittes right now.
As for the others, as [...]
The New York Times editorial of 25 July was magnificent. I can’t summarise it, so I’ll quote it (and hope they’ll forgive me):
As Americans grapple with the impact of trade and globalization, the government should be trying to ensure that America’s multinational corporations - and by extension, their shareholders - pay a fair share in [...]
I’m a bit late in drawing attention to this - but holidays sometimes interrupt the best laid plans, and Sheila Killian’s article in the July edition of The Village in Ireland is well worth reading. She addresses the problems Ireland has caused for itself by behaving like a developing nation using tax haven rules to [...]
Compass is probably the most active moderate left of centre think tank at the moment. It’s just published a paper on tax competition in Europe. This gives a feel:
We therefore propose a compulsory unified CCCTB accompanied by the introduction of a minimum tax rate. A unified basis of tax assessment combined with formula apportionment can [...]
I missed this one whilst away: Geldof plays the tax market in the same way that Bono does. In his case he’s using his non-domicile status to avoid UK capital gains tax, inheritance tax and stamp duty by registering ownership of his UK properties through British Virgin Island companies. The full story is here.
This is [...]
I got an email form the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales last week. I am a regulated practising chartered accountant. It said:
I am pleased to write to you in your capacity as Practice Assurance Contact Principal about the new annual return. It is now much shorter, clearer and easier to complete. The [...]
Alan Greenspan has guru status with some. But according to the FT he has said:
The US needs to reduce corporate tax rates to prevent business profits from being squeezed by the rising cost of raising finance through debt and equities, Alan Greenspan, former Federal Reserve chairman, warned
That’s ridiculous. It assumes that debt and equities have [...]
Prem Sikka has been writing on tax avoidance for the Guardian. Prem is always controversial. Maybe that’s why we get on. But as one commentator also says on this piece:
I have been doing accounting work for over thirty years and can tell Geoff103, nairobiny, Tim Worstall and others that Prem Sikka is closer to the [...]
Alex Cobham wrote an excellent blog for the Guardian concerning the FT’s poll on globalisation.
I can’t do better than recommend it.
PS He won’t be writing another for a day or two - he became a dad for the first time on Friday. Congratulations!
SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “Alex Cobham on globalisation”, url: “http://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2007/07/29/alex-cobham-on-globalisation/” });
