Belvedere-owned stockbroker has two licences suspended
A Mauritius-based stockbroker owned by troubled offshore fund group Belvedere Management has had two of its licences suspended by the island’s Financial Services Commission.
Tax & Regulation
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Australia announces major review into financial regulator
The Australian Government has announced a full scale review of the country’s main financial regulator to assess its performance and see whether it has adequate capabilities and systems.
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Crown Dependency disclosure facilities ‘surprisingly’ underused
Crown Dependency disclosure facilities set up to offer individuals the opportunity to disclose any overdue payments or irregularities have yielded “surprisingly” low returns for HMRC, according to Pinsent Masons.
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Tax avoidance ‘sham’ defeated in tribunal by HMRC
HM Revenue & Customs has won a legal battle against a £29m offshore tax avoidance scheme where money was supposed to fund research into brain disorders.
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FCA questioned over advice gap and ‘courting headlines’
The independent panels of the FCA have questioned the regulator over its handling of the UK advice gap created following the banning of commission payments to advisers in 2012 as a result of the Retail Distribution Review.
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UK tax office considers changes to lifetime allowance protection
The UK tax office has decided to offer pension savers the ability to protect their entitlement to £1.25m lifetime allowance when a new lower limit is introduced on 6 April 2016, but is looking at changing the way individuals register for the protection.
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HMRC spares ‘non-aggressive’ trusts from IHT avoidance scheme crackdown
HM Revenue & Customs has proposed strengthening the ‘hallmarks’ it uses to identify inheritance tax planning arrangements but has excluded certain types of trusts used alongside life assurance policies.
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Serious Fraud Office plans budget cut of 35% despite rise in inquiries
The Serious Fraud Office is to cut its budget by 35% over the next financial year, despite a rise in the number of new investigations opened during 2014-15.
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Time for FCA to refocus on fraudsters, says RPC
The surprise departure of Martin Wheatley as head of the Financial Conduct Authority could be an opportunity for the UK regulator to refocus activity on small-scale fraudsters who target the unsophisticated retail investor, says City law firm RPC.
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New UK offshore tax laws must prove criminal intent – CIOT
The UK government’s plans for a new law to make offshore tax evasion a criminal offence must include a requirement that prosecutors prove criminal intent, according to the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT).
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HMRC to step up sanctions against offshore tax evasion
HM Revenue and Customs has announced plans to toughen up penalties for offshore tax evasion, and is looking at a new corporate criminal offence for failure to prevent the facilitation of evasion.
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UK Gov’t to tighten salary rules to enforce pension taper
The UK Government plans to tighten rules around salary payments to enforce new rules governing annual tax free pension contribution allowances for high earners.