Small Business to Prosper In The UK
Posted: 08/08/2010 Filed under: Small Business | Tags: business, business concerns, moving to the UK, moving to UK, Non Dom, Small Business, UK tax Leave a comment »I have always been confident that Britain is going to pull itself out of the recession and it is great to see the Bank of England have stepped up to lend a hand to small and large businesses alike.
They have done this by purchasing more corporate bonds in May and June under their qualitative easing programme in order to push cash into the economy, for businesses who have been struggling with the sovereign debt crisis.
Bank holdings of corporate debt rose from £1.36bn to £1.6bn in the three months leading up to June, its quarterly Asset Purchase Facility report showed. The Bank has bought £198bn of gilts from companies under the programme and continues to buy and sell around £2bn of corporate debt.
The Banks facilities have been made use of by Corporate’s in the past quarter as concerns about sovereign debts fed through to fears about companies, pushing the price of bond issuance higher and reducing demand.
“Increased concerns about the fiscal adjustment of some euro-area member states and banks’ exposure to sovereign debt fed through into other risky asset prices, such as corporate bonds,” the Bank said. “The resulting increase in uncertainty and volatility saw conditions in UK corporate debt markets deteriorate marginally during May and early June.”
The cost of raising debt through bond issuance, compared with Government gilts, increased by 0.3 percentage points. “Issuance was lower than in 2009 but broadly in line with historical averages. Market contacts suggested that some firms had delayed issuance as a result of market conditions,” the bank said.
This is all good news for Britain and the both large and small businesses that reside here. In times of austerity it is important, in my opinion, that we highlight the positives and at the moment I must say I do not have to search very far to find them.
Small business may well prosper under this government. Time will tell.
Non Dom Charge A Flea Bite
Posted: 18/06/2010 Filed under: Moving to London, Non Dom | Tags: business concerns, moving to UK, Non Dom, non dom tax Leave a comment »Despite the fact that the new non dom tax has now raised 1.3 million in its first year, the Lib Dems are still not describing it in very flattering terms. In fact they have called it a flea bite.
Introduced by the previous labour government the non dom payment which directs non doms to pay a flat rate of thirty thousand each year was originally predicted to raise 650 million a year for the country. The 130 it has bought in is certainly a far cry from that kind of sum.
People who have been resident in the UK but are non domiciled for taxation reasons are liable to pay the fee or they can choose to be taxed in the normal fashion.
Part of the reason the collected figure is so much lower than expected is that we now have fewer non doms. As some people pointed out would happen many non doms have left the country taking their cash with them and many more have been deterred from coming. I think i remember some pretty prominent people predicting that this is exactly what would happen.
Andrew Rodger, executive director of Stonehage, says: “This piece of evidence seems to suggest that less tax is being generated than anticipated by the 2008 changes but we are nonetheless losing tax revenue as a result of the changes.”
Ah, I don’t think that is quite what the xenophobes had in mind.
Cut Immigration: Slow Growth
Posted: 15/06/2010 Filed under: Moving to London, UK Immigration, Uncategorized | Tags: business concerns, Moving to London, moving to the UK, Non Dom Leave a comment »In an interesting story on immigration this week the Office For Budget Responsibility has come out and stated that cuts to immigration now will result in a slow down in economic growth as soon as 2014.
It is great when people actually start talking the real truth about immigration instead of all the xenophobic nonsense that it sometimes feels like the press are force feeding us. The OBR reasons that in a society where the population is ageing immigration is not just to be tolerated but is in fact a necessity.
The OBR was formed in May 2010 to give an independent and informed opinion of budget and public finances. They have nothing to gain by stating that drastic cuts to immigration would be a dire mistake, it is just the unvarnished truth. How refreshing.
Immigration into the UK has dropped from a height of 233 000 to 50 000 in recent times. The OBR argue that this combined with low British birth rates will have a huge and profound effect on the UK economy, weaken the pound and result in high unemployment.
Rather than the paradise some newspapers would have us believe Britain would be without immigration this does not sound like much fun at all. Fancy that!
UK Top For European Investors
Posted: 03/06/2010 Filed under: Non Dom, Offshore Solutions, Small Business, UK Immigration | Tags: business, business concerns, Non Dom, non dom tax Leave a comment »Despite what sometimes feels like the best efforts of successive governments and the UK press, the UK is still top of the pile when it comes to European investment. Even though the press seems determined to talk nonsense about non doms owing the UK something more, European investors still see the UK as a very attractive place to spend their money.
In 2009, the UK attracted 678 investment projects, which gave us 2017 jobs. Terrible what all these foreigners are doing to our beloved Britain, hey?
“When seen in the context of 12 months during which the European economy suffered a deep recession, the resilience of the UK in securing FDI [foreign direct investment] is a remarkable economic success story,” said James Close, a partner at Ernst & Young.
Quite and and it is even more remarkable given the attitude of some people toward foreign investment.
Non Dom Issue Rears Head Again, Scaring Investors
Posted: 02/06/2010 Filed under: Non Dom, Offshore Solutions | Tags: corporate tax, corporation tax, moving to the UK, moving to UK, Non Dom, non dom tax Leave a comment »It seems to me whenever a politician needs a boost in popularity or more usually a distraction from the really important things taking place in our economy they turn the talk to the subject of non domiciles. Things that they think may not be as popular as a little non dom bashing. And a couple of weeks ago it happened again.
The idea that non doms should be hunted down and taxed within an inch of their lives came under discussion again. It was a discussion that quite frankly scared the life out of those in the know in the financial industry. Those that have no political barrow to push are fully aware that the UK gets its fair share from non doms in monetary terms. They are dismayed every time some politician ‘pledges to review’ the situation. It makes foreign investors nervous.
Believe it or not this is not a good thing, the UK does very nicely out of non doms and only those that have their own agenda would suggest otherwise.
As an article in the financial times pointed out recently further changes to the non-dom rules would be a “real deterrent for wealth-creating individuals to come from overseas”
Why is it the general public finds this so hard to understand? I think it is because politicians are intent on feeding them misinformation on the subject.
Worldwide Tax To Hit Britain The Hardest
Posted: 27/04/2010 Filed under: Moving to London, Small Business, UK Investment, UK Taxation, Uncategorized | Tags: business, business concerns, corporate tax, corporation tax, moving to the UK, Non Dom, Taxation Leave a comment »There is growing momentum in the world financial sector for the beginning of a worldwide banking tax. I feel this really does make sense in terms of the big picture. The days of each country being a largely separate economy are long gone as is evidenced by the global crisis we have all just been through. We are now all inextricably linked.
Having said that each country will, of course, look at the proposal of a worldwide banking tax largely from their own point of view. For Britain experts estimate that it will cost around the 5 billion mark, is this likely to hit London far harder than it does other countries? Some experts are worried that is the case. As a result the UK is currently leading th drum banging against this kind of tax.
London has been one of the most competitive financial markets in the world for quite some time now and this is largely down to the flexibility provided by the large amount of self regulation the banks enjoy. There is no doubt that in the short to mid term this needs to be tightened up but how much and do we risk strangling the competitive edge from the UK banks?
If you are worried about taxation on a much smaller scale, the taxation of your business then you can feel free to call in the experts here at St Matthew’s eAccounting. We may not be able to solve the world taxation problems but we are experts at solving those of the average UK business.
Non Dom Hangs Taxman By His Own Rope
Posted: 16/04/2010 Filed under: Non Dom, Offshore Solutions | Tags: business concerns, Moving to London, moving to the UK, moving to UK, Non Dom, uk investments Leave a comment »A very clever non dom made a fool of the UK taxation laws in court earlier this month. He effectively used the taxman’s most potent rule against him and won. This is not something we see every day and by that i do not mean a non domiciled individual beating the tax man, I mean anyone having a victory over them.
Even if you win on points in a battle with HMRC you usually get battered to within an inch of your life.
To cut a long story short, the non-dom managed to argue eligibility for the one get-out clause to Section 739 of British tax law, which is the UK’s most potent weapon against offshore tax evasion. This section contains the offshore anti-avoidance rules and the non-dom argued in an anonymised case that double taxation relief was necessary. The clever chap or lady or more likely their very clever lawyer argued that remittance rules superseded the argument put forward by the government body and the judge agreed.
You have got to admire anyone that takes on HMRC and wins. It is not for the faint hearted but it is sometimes necessary not least of all because of the ridiculous complexity of the laws governing offshore taxation.
If you are a non dom or you are wondering how that idea works in the UK we would be glad to talk you through it. just get in contact for a chat.
UK Immigration The Topic Of the Moment
Posted: 04/04/2010 Filed under: UK Immigration | Tags: Immigration, Moving to London, moving to the UK, moving to UK, Non Dom, non dom tax Leave a comment »There were quite a few stories around regarding the topic of UK immigration this week and depending entirely on who you listen to and what your stance is Gordon Brown was either the villain or the hero of the piece.
He was on the receiving end of a fairly stinging and humiliating rebuke from the Government’s own statistics watchdog yesterday. He was accused of using dodgy immigration statistics to suggest that the number of immigrates is falling. It has been said that the figures he chose to use were 30 000 lower than the ones he should have been quoting.
There was a certain irony to the rebuke he received given that it came not long after he had delivered his own rebuke on the subject directed at the Tory party. In Mr Browns version he warned the population that they should choose the party that would best realistically control immigration not just say things that appeal to ‘our worst instincts of nationalism and xenophobia’.
His speech on the subject, his third in three years would have been certain to carry more weight if the statistics watchdog head Sir Michael Scholar had not chosen the same week to point out Mr Brown’s manipulation of the figures.
Overall though I applaud the stance that Mr Brown is taking on immigration. There is entirely no need for a knee jerk reaction on this subject. By all means stop the visas for people who wish to work in trades that are over catered for such as chefs and careworkers ( one new policy that Mr Brown has suggested) but overall immigration is a good thing.
If you are thinking of moving to the UK then here at St Matthews eAccounting we can help smooth the transition for you. We have be doing it for years.
UK Needs Tax Reform To Encourage Investment
Posted: 21/03/2010 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Moving to London, moving to the UK, moving to UK, Non Dom, non dom tax, tax refunds, Taxation, uk companies, UK tax Leave a comment »The treasury has recently announced proposals for the reform of taxation in this country that has given real hope that the UK will once again become attractive to people managing a multinational. The proposals for reform centre mainly on holding companies and there is no doubt that bit of complex taxation law does need some attention and some serious sorting out. It is certainly not the only part of our system that could do with an overhaul but it is a good place to start.
The thing we have to hope for now, as pointed out in an article in this week’s Telegraph is that the key staff of these multi nationals will see moving to London and building a life in the UK as a good lifestyle choice for them. It is all very well a multi national choosing the places in the world that most benefit them but often these types of companies depend on the top notch calibre of its staff to stay on top. If said staff are reluctant to live in the UK then the company may decide it is not the place for them.
People totally ignore this when they go on and on about the non dom issue. We need to tread a fine line here. Non domicile seems to have become a dirty word but in actual fact we need these people. And yet we are driving them away. April’s headline rate of 50 pc is the 5th highest of all thirty of the OECD countries. Effectively what this means is that a company may decide that Paris or Geneva are a better alternative to London and then they do not bring their company and all its associated benefits to the UK.
Just as we are changing the taxation for companies to make this a great destination for them we are making it harder for them to staff their business. That is something we need to be very careful of as we try to put our economy back on top.
If you have any questions involving non dom status or company taxation we would be happy to talk them through with you.
High Street Sales Soar
Posted: 09/03/2010 Filed under: Non Dom | Tags: british economy, business, business concerns, economy, Moving to London, moving to the UK, moving to UK, Non Dom, non dom tax Leave a comment »It is good to see, after all the doom and gloom we have been experiencing, to see that sales in the high street are beginning to look up. It has been a hard time globally as we are all aware and the fact that sales are up in Britain’s mots popular stores is a welcome piece of news. Financially things the growth of sales in the high street has to be a good indicator of an increasingly healthy economy.
The Telegraph calls the the figures from January ‘ the strongest year-on-year increase in sales since May 2007′ and Richard Lowe, from Barclays bank, said: “February has defied expectations with a return to positive growth in the retail sector. Businesses will be enthused by this news after the New Year began with a reining in of consumer spending which commentators had seen as a possible sign of a double-dip recession on the horizon.”
I am not totally convinced the spectre of the double dip has been erased but that is a whole other blog, the very next one in fact. The point is that the recession in Britain has not lived up to the dire warnings that preceded it and the doomsday theories we were subjected to during it. Funny how things so rarely do.
If you are thinking that the green shoot of the economy in Britain are attractive and are considering a move then please contact us here at St Matthew’s eAccounting we would love to talk things through with you.
