LONDON - The tax deal between the UK and Switzerland is coming under fire as public campaigners claim that the agreement is rife with loopholes. On October 25th the international anti - tax evasion group the Tax Justice Network (TJN) published a new report condemning the recently signed tax agreement between Switzerland and the UK. According to the TJN, the new agreement will not lead to any significant reductions in tax evasion, and could even help some taxpayers to better hide their ... Read More

LONDON - Millions of UK workers are set to find a pleasant surprise in their letter box in the coming months, as the HM Revenue and Customs begins a new campaign to reconcile tax overpayments made by taxpayers over the last 8 years. On October 19th the UK HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced that it is set to issue a multitude of tax refunds in order to cover overpayment of individual tax liabilities dating back as far as 2003. The tax refunds are ... Read More

A group of financial transparency advocacy organizations have sent a letter to the US Treasury, saying that national banks need to tighten up their anti money laundering practices. In a letter sent to the US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency Coalition (FACT) has called for national bank regulators to conduct an extensive review on the anti-money laundering practices conducted by financial institutions. The letter, which was published on September 13th, refers to a review recently conducted in ... Read More

Tensions are rising over the UK’s 50 percent top income tax rate, as the country’s leading analysts weigh in with their opinions on the topic, and the government delays on making any decisions regarding the tax’s lifespan. In the latest development on the debate in the UK over the 50 percent income tax rate, on September 8th the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Ed Balls said that cutting the tax should not be a priority for the government, and that supporters of ... Read More

Scotland’s intentions for a devolved tax system have been criticized by the UK government, with several shortcomings in the plan being highlighted. Scotland’s bid for a devolved tax system has taken a stumble, as the push for greater tax powers is called unclear and inherently filled with significant risks and costs. The judgment came in a letter sent on September 6th to Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney from the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury of the UK David Gauke. In the correspondence, the ... Read More

The UK could soon follow Germany in signing a tax deal with Switzerland in order to reduce the occurrence of cross border tax evasion while allowing Switzerland to maintain its bank confidentiality regulations. The president of the Swiss Bankers Association Patrick Odier has revealed that Swiss and UK tax authorities are only a few weeks away from concluding negotiations over a new cooperative tax deal. Under proposals raised in the negotiations, Swiss banks would be responsible for applying a flat rate withholding ... Read More

The UK government urgently needs to instate a series of permanent tax rate increases, and follow a program of heavy cuts of spending , in order to avoid a debt crisis, such as the one faced by Greece. On July 13th the Office of Budgetary Responsibility (OBR) presented its annual Fiscal Sustainability Report to the UK parliament. According to conclusions drawn in the report, the UK needs to increase income taxes by an extra 12 percent in order to raise the revenues necessary ... Read More