tax-dodging

The Eurobond tax scandal: Channel Tunnel accused of ‘outrageous’ tax avoidance

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http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/the-eurobond-tax-scandal-channel-tunnel-accused-of–outrageous-tax-avoidance-8902452.html

pg-10-channel-tunnel-gettyThe costly Channel Tunnel rail link, Gatwick Airport and the disastrous M6 toll road are amongst the transport companies using a legal tax avoidance scheme which allows them to avoid millions in tax.

The revelations are the fifth part of a joint investigation by Corporate Watch and The Independent into the misuse of the quoted Eurobond exemption. Companies cut their UK taxable income by racking up interest on debt from their owners via the Channel Island Stock Exchange, then send the interest out of the UK tax-free. Without the exemption, 20 per cent of the payments could be deducted by HMRC, minimising the overall tax saving.

The transport companies using the scheme are: Midland Expressway, which runs the M6 Toll road, Gatwick Airport, Bristol Airport, Associated British Ports, which runs 21 ports across the UK, Peel Ports, which runs the Manchester Ship Canal and the Port of Liverpool, Forth Ports and High Speed 1.

The news that the expensive Channel Tunnel rail link – also known as HS1 – is among those avoiding tax comes after the Public Accounts Committee found it was already poor value for money. Their inquiry last year concluded its construction had generated billions of pounds in public debt, was “based on dodgy assumptions and bad planning” and had yet to prove it was value for money.

Committee chair Margaret Hodge MP said: “The taxpayer has been saddled with a bill of more than £10bn for HS1, a project which was originally supposed to pay for itself but has been riddled with costly mistakes. If a company that is benefiting from this level of taxpayer support is avoiding paying its own fair share of tax, that is simply outrageous.

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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.

I consider this posting to comply with copyright laws since
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Continue ReadingThe Eurobond tax scandal: Channel Tunnel accused of ‘outrageous’ tax avoidance

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.

I consider this posting to comply with copyright laws since
a. Only a small portion of the original article has been quoted satisfying the fair use criteria, and / or
b. This posting satisfies the requirements of a derivative work.

Please be assured that this blog is a non-commercial blog (weblog) which does not feature advertising and has not ever produced any income.

dizzy

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

Eurobonds scandal: The high street giants avoiding millions in tax

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http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/eurobonds-scandal-the-high-street-giants-avoiding-millions-in-tax-8897591.html

Many of Britain’s best-known high street chains are avoiding millions of pounds in tax through the controversial Eurobonds scheme.

Food chains including Nando’s, Pizza Express, Café Rouge, Strada and Pret A Manger have cut their taxable profits by borrowing from their owners through the Channel Islands Stock Exchange. High street retailers doing the same include BHS, the electronics retailer Maplin, Office and Pets At Home. The revelations form the third part of an investigation by Corporate Watch and The Independent into major UK companies using the quoted Eurobond exemption, a regulatory loophole the Government knows about but has decided not to close.

David Cameron is expected to be questioned today in Parliament about the scheme and HMRC’s failure to tackle it. Instead of putting their money in the shares of the companies they buy, the owners – mostly private equity funds – lend it instead. The interest on the loans cuts the UK companies’ taxable income each year and the exemption – triggered because the loans are listed on the Channel Islands Stock Exchange – means the interest goes to the owners tax free. Without this loophole, HMRC could deduct a 20 per cent “withholding tax” from payments overseas and the overall tax saving would be greatly reduced. Yesterday The Independent reported how Camelot had avoided tax using this method and how HMRC was lobbied by financial firms to keep the loophole open.

Murray Worthy, a tax campaigner with War on Want, said: “This isn’t just a niche issue that’s being used by a handful of companies. We’ve seen how angry people are about the ease with which these companies can avoid paying their fair share, [and] the only reason this is happening is because of the influence of big business on the Government’s tax rules.” Gondola Group – which owns Pizza Express, Zizzi and Ask – has avoided as much as £77m in UK corporation tax since it was bought by the Cinven private equity fund in 2006. Cinven loaned Gondola more than £300m at a 12.5 per cent interest rate but only invested £8m in equity. Instead of receiving the interest payments on the loans every year, Cinven has allowed it to accrue on the debt, compounding the amount taken off Gondola’s profits every year. When Cinven sells the restaurants, which it is reportedly considering, it can receive the £276.8m it is owed tax free.

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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.

I consider this posting to comply with copyright laws since
a. Only a small portion of the original article has been quoted satisfying the fair use criteria, and / or
b. This posting satisfies the requirements of a derivative work.

Please be assured that this blog is a non-commercial blog (weblog) which does not feature advertising and has not ever produced any income.

dizzy

Continue ReadingEurobonds scandal: The high street giants avoiding millions in tax

Borrowing figures show how Osborne allowed thousands to avoid 50p tax rate

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http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/10/borrowing-figures-show-how-osborne-allowed-thousands-avoid-50p-tax-rate

The spike in tax receipts was caused by individuals deferring income and bonuses to benefit from the new 45p rate, not a surge in earnings.

By George Eaton

george_osborne

The latest borrowing figures are being trumpeted by the Tories as evidence of the success of George Osborne’s economic plan, with tax receipts up by 7% compared to last year. But what they won’t mention is that this spike has more to do with high earners avoiding the 50p tax rate than it does with any rise in earnings. By deferring income and bonuses from 2012 until this year to take advantage of the new 45p rate, taxpayers have caused a £2.9bn increase in receipts. But with earnings growth of just 0.7% in the most recent month, it’s far from certain that this improved trend will continue.

As the OBR notes in its commentary on the figures:

Growth in both income tax and NICs for the year-to-date is above the full year forecasts, but this largely reflects the fact that receipts in the first few months of the year benefited from the deferral of some income/bonuses to take advantage of the reduction of the additional rate of income tax to 45p and some temporary effects in non-PAYE income tax. Prospects for PAYE and NIC receipts growth will depend on the feed-through from the low growth in average weekly earnings in the latest data.

The IFS similarly warns:

It is important to note that some of the strong growth in receipts observed earlier in the year may not be expected to persist for the rest of the financial year, as it may be the result of some high income individuals pushing part of their income from last year into the beginning of this tax year in order to take advantage of the reduction in the higher rate of income tax.

And with individuals paying tax at 45p, rather than 50p, the Exchequer is left out of pocket. Osborne’s stated justification for abolishing the 50p rate was that, due to mass avoidance, it raised “just a third of the £3bn” expected. But while it’s true that £16bn of income was shifted into the previous tax year  – when the rate was still 40p – this was a trick the rich could only have played once. And as the government has acknowledged on other occasions, tax avoidance isn’t an argument for cutting tax, it’s an argument for stopping avoidance.

Having falsely claimed that the (anomalous) first year of the 50p rate proved that it was ineffective, the Tories are now using the (anomalous) first year of the 45p rate to argue that they were right to scrap it. We’ll never know how much the 50p rate would actually have raised – and that is just as Osborne intended.

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Continue ReadingBorrowing figures show how Osborne allowed thousands to avoid 50p tax rate

Tax Special Investigation: How Camelot has avoided millions in tax – with help from teachers in Canada

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http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/tax-special-investigation-how-camelot-has-avoidedmillions-in-tax–with-help-from-teachers-in-canada-8895219.html

The great Eurobond tax scandal

Camelot, the company behind the National Lottery, has avoided millions of pounds in corporation tax by exploiting a legal loophole that HMRC failed to close.

The company saved an estimated £10m in tax in the last two years through interest on loans taken from its Canadian owner via the Channel Islands Stock Exchange. Its owner is one of Canada’s largest pension plans, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan board. The revelation comes as the National Lottery has doubled the price of its tickets to £2.

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The Government estimated in 2012 that the loophole was costing the public purse some £200m, but publicly available accounts suggest the true cost could be more than £500m – and probably higher.


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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.

I consider this posting to comply with copyright laws since
a. Only a small portion of the original article has been quoted satisfying the fair use criteria, and / or
b. This posting satisfies the requirements of a derivative work.

Please be assured that this blog is a non-commercial blog (weblog) which does not feature advertising and has not ever produced any income.

dizzy

Continue ReadingTax Special Investigation: How Camelot has avoided millions in tax – with help from teachers in Canada