All the best tax breaks are Made in America
While in some countries avoiding tax is a national pastime, in America the government offers all manner of mechanisms to reduce one’s bill.From deductions on mortgage payments,...
How to avoid paying housing stamp duty with really trying
Over the weekend, we were treated to (even more) pre-announcements about what’s going to be in this year’s budget in the UK. FT Alphaville’s interest was piqued...
Knights, damsels, and tax-advantaged debt buybacks
FT Alphaville has been very curious about exactly what went on in two tax schemes that the UK government legislated against this week. While Barclays wasn’t the only company...
Mystery UK taxpayer du jour [Updated]
Fifteen banks are signatories to the UK’s Code of Practice on Taxation.BANK OF AMERICA/MERRILLBARCLAYSCITIGROUP (CITIBANK)CREDIT SUISSEDEUTSCHE BANKGOLDMAN SACHS...
What if the UK misses its deficit reduction target
Dr Gloom (Tullett Prebon’s Tim Morgan) has just published the second part of his UK Reform trilogy.With Coalition government’s deficit reduction plan doomed to failure,...
Ka-Pow! Deutsche hit by the VAT man
As with UBS, there’s more than meets the eye to this Tuesday trading update from Deutsche Bank.And we’re not talking about the missed €10bn pre-tax profit target...
[Something for the weekend] Neil Collins
Just what Dr Vickers orderedSir John Vickers is laughing all the way to the bank(ing commission). As a movie plot, the publication of his report, immediately followed by a spectacular...
Avoiding the monetary road to serfdom
Sometimes it’s the simplest observations that stand out.For example, when it comes to the question of money, perhaps popular singing sensation ABBA said it best:I work all night,...
The Grantham manifesto
Albert Edwards has a soul mate — GMO’s Jeremy Grantham.Like the SocGen strategist, he too is worried about the massive transfer of income to the very rich that has...
A glance at UK GDP – across the North Sea
Things that impacted the UK’s second-quarter GDP, as announced by the ONS on Tuesday:The additional bank holiday for the royal weddingThe royal wedding itself The after-effects...
A taxing debt issue
Flying beneath our radar last week was a hearing on the tax treatment of debt for both households and business, held by the Congressional Joint Committee On Taxation (tip of the...
Greek black hole financial comet spotted on Twitter
Seller beware and all that, but there’s (totally-unconfirmed) talk of a €3.5bn black hole in Greece’s austerity plan.Now, were are not taking it too seriously....
