Daily Archives: 23 October 2013

Eurobond tax scandal: David Cameron accused of dodging concerns over loophole that costs Treasury at least £500m a year

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http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/eurobond-tax-scandal-david-cameron-accused-of-dodging-concerns-over-loophole-that-costs-treasury-at-least-500m-a-year-8899864.html

Prime Minister refuses to explain why he hasn’t stopped use of Eurobond exemption

cameronunhappyGETTYDavid Cameron’s attempts to “brush aside” legitimate concerns that the Government has not yet closed a legal tax loophole, which is losing the public purse at least £500m a year, have been condemned by MPs and campaigners.

When asked at Prime Minister’s Questions about revelations in The Independent that the Coalition had failed to stop the use of the quoted Eurobond exemption to avoid tax, Mr Cameron said decisions had been made by the Treasury and implied that was the end of it.

Shabana Mahmood, Labour MP for Birmingham Ladywood and shadow Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, said: “It’s pretty shocking that David Cameron just brushed aside this important question. We’re talking about a loophole that costs us around half a billion a year, yet the Prime Minister arrogantly dismisses the issue. At a time when families are facing a cost-of-living crisis and the deficit is high, this isn’t good enough.”

She added: “David Cameron and George Osborne must explain why they decided not to close this loophole. And we need a government that takes tax avoidance seriously and is on the side of the majority of families and businesses who pay their fair share.”

The campaign group UK Uncut says it is now considering targeting the high-street chains highlighted in The Independent, which include Nando’s, Pizza Express, Café Rouge, BHS, Maplin, Office and Pets at Home. The companies all cut their taxable profits by borrowing at high interest from their owners through the Channel Islands Stock Exchange.

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27/11/13 Having received a takedown notice from the Independent newspaper for a different posting, I have reviewed this article which links to an article at the Independent’s website in order to attempt to ensure conformance with copyright laws.

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Continue ReadingEurobond tax scandal: David Cameron accused of dodging concerns over loophole that costs Treasury at least £500m a year

Abdel Hakim Belhaj: justice barred for Libyan dissident, say lawyers

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http://www.theguardian.com/global/2013/oct/23/abdel-hakim-belhaj-justice-llibyan-dissident

UK effort to reject case of Libyan and wife, seized with MI6 help then abused by Gaddafi agents, called political expediency

Britain’s intelligence agencies want to prevent a leading Libyan dissident and his pregnant wife, who were abducted with the help of MI6 and then tortured, from seeking justice because of “political embarrassment”, the high court heard on Wednesday.

Court documents released on behalf of Abdel Hakim Belhaj and his Moroccan-born wife, Fatima Bouchar, say the government’s attempt to get the case thrown out is “incompatible with the rule of law and has grave constitutional implications”.

The documents say that if the government were right, it would “leave anyone who is a victim of torture without any remedy if another state was involved in some way in the conduct”.

Lawyers acting for MI6, a former senior MI6 officer, Sir Mark Allen, the former foreign secretary Jack Straw, and MI5, argue that since the abduction took place abroad and involved officials from other countries, they had no case to answer in a British court.

However, Richard Hermer QC, Belhaj’s counsel, said the traditional doctrine of state immunity from prosecution did not cover torture and other human rights abuses. He told Mr Justice Simon the government was deploying a “doctrine of political embarrassment”.

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Ineos closes Grangemouth petrochemicals plant

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http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/oct/23/ineos-closes-grangemouth-petrochemicals-plant

About 800 workers at petrochemicals complex face axe, with fate of neighbouring oil refinery still undecided

Workers walk through the Grangemouth oil refinery

The petrochemical plant at Grangemouth is to close following a bitter row over pay and conditions, putting 800 workers’ jobs at risk.

Owner Ineos has decided to shut the petrochemical side of the complex, which is situated next to the firm’s oil refinery.

Workers were given the grim news at a meeting with Ineos’s chairman, Calum MacLean.

In an urgent question on Grangemouth in parliament, energy and climate change secretary Ed Davey told MPs repeatedly that the government wants the plant to stay open if at all possible. It would still consider a business case to provide investment to help keep the plant running.

Davey also confirmed that detailed contingency plans have been drawn up to protect firms and customers from running out of fuel and chemical supplies.

He will meet with MPs later on Wednesday to discuss the issue in more detail.

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Government admits it does not know how well benefit cap is working

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http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/oct/23/effect-benefit-cap-work-pensions-welfare-official-figures

Work and pensions minister condemns report that found cap not working but is unable to offer official figures

A Conservative minister has admitted that the government does not know how many people the benefit cap is forcing into work, after a new study said the flagship welfare policy was not helping the unemployed or saving money.

Mike Penning, a work and pensions minister, condemned the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) report as “fundamentally flawed”, after it estimated that only 10% of those hit by the cap in one London borough, Haringey, had secured jobs or increased their working hours.

However, he could not give a government figure for the number of people affected who were working more as a result.

“We don’t know what the percentage is,” he said. “We know 16,500 have gone into work as this was phased in and we gave Jobcentre Plus the funding to do that.

“In Haringey, we knew there would be issues in the London councils, so we gave them £56m extra, so we’re not surprised we’re doing that. And for the 10% of people that have gone into work, we’re thrilled for them. And we’re also thrilled for hardworking people because this is fair.”

The CIH report looked at early results in Haringey in north London. It found only a handful of the 747 households affected by the cap had secured a job or increased working hours since the cap was introduced six months ago, despite intensive and personalised support from councils and local jobcentres.

Although the policy was shaving £60,000 a week from the benefits bill locally, this amounted to only 1% of the council’s total weekly benefit expenditure. Haringey has spent £55,000 a week on short-term discretionary grants to help claimants affected by the cap to meet rent shortfalls, and thousands more on providing extra welfare and employment advice.

The few capped claimants who had so far moved into employment were already “close to the labour market” and were likely to have got a job anyway, or were already working part-time and had increased their hours, according to Haringey jobcentre officials and charity job advisers interviewed by the CIH.

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Post Office Managers Protest In Pay Row

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http://news.sky.com/story/1158598/post-office-managers-protest-in-pay-row

Image of post office van next to postboxPost Office managers will take their first industrial action in 34 years later this week in a dispute over pay.

Members of the Unite union, which represents 900 managers, will work to rule for 24 hours on Friday and refuse to do any overtime.

They will also refuse to travel outside of their hours or work anywhere other than their normal place of employment.

Unite accused the Post Office of “dragging its feet” for 16 months over a pay deal and warned of further action if the row is not resolved.

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