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tax

October 7, 2016

New regulations driving greater transparency around beneficial ownership are being set up throughout Europe, spearheaded by Great Britain

New regulations driving greater transparency around beneficial ownership are being set up throughout Europe, spearheaded by Great Britain. Alison Ebbage reports

Before David Cameron’s leadership was overshadowed by Britain’s infamous vote to exit from the European Union, he had notched up another notable first: pushing the United Kingdom to become the first G20 country to set up a publicly accessible register of beneficial ownership.

Panama Papers: Tax haven can wait

October 7, 2016

Will the Panama Papers mark a tipping point for families and their advisers? And what will families need to do to fend off public criticism?

Will the Panama Papers mark a tipping point for families and their advisers? And what will families need to do to fend off public criticism? Paul Golden reports

A mere two months before Brexit brought the curtain down on David Cameron’s 11-year leadership of the UK Conservative Party, the former prime minister had only narrowly escaped an earlier end to his premiership.

US tightens up on luxury property purchases through offshore companies

January 18, 2016

The US’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has announced it will be investigating the individuals behind secretive all-cash purchases of high-end luxury real-estate in a six-month trial programme intended to enhance the treasury’s anti-money laundering efforts.

The US’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has announced it will be investigating the individuals behind secretive all-cash purchases of high-end luxury real estate in a six-month trial programme intended to enhance the treasury’s anti-money laundering efforts.

Ikea's founder lets go of last official role in the business

May 6, 2014

Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of Swedish flat-pack furniture chain Ikea, has relinquished his last formal roles in the business he founded in 1943.

Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of Swedish flat-pack furniture chain Ikea, has relinquished his last formal roles in the business he founded in 1943.

Kamprad, 88, left his roles on the boards of the two foundations that control Ikea's assets in late December last year, but the announcement was only made recently.

Ikea founder moves home to Sweden after 40 years

March 21, 2014

The octogenarian founder of Swedish furniture giant Ikea, Ingvar Kamprad, has moved back to the home country, where he founded the family business, after four decades abroad.

The octogenarian founder of Swedish furniture giant Ikea, Ingvar Kamprad, has moved back to the home country, where he founded the family business, after four decades abroad.

Kamprad, 87, quit Sweden in 1973 in protest against the country's high taxes, initially moving to Denmark before settling in Switzerland in 1976.

He first announced his plans in the summer of 2013, but heart and back problems delayed the move according to the Kamprad family's spokesman.

Fiat’s Italian family business image damaged as it turns global

February 24, 2014

Fifth-generation family business Fiat is losing its image as an Italian company, according to an Italian business expert, as it expands globally and moves its tax affairs and company registration to other European countries.

Founded by Giovanni Agnelli in 1899, the company is now headed by fifth-gen John Elkann, who confirmed this month that the carmaker was moving its tax domicile to the UK and registering its business in the Netherlands.

Infographic: US family businesses

June 26, 2013

Family business should not be confused with small business in the US

Size matters in the US, which is home to some of the world’s biggest family businesses. The country’s five largest family-controlled firms – Walmart, Ford, Cargill, Koch Industries and Comcast – had combined revenues of $911.9 billion (€694.8 billion) in 2012, more than Indonesia’s GDP.

A modest business proposal

June 18, 2013

Business has lost its way; modern businesses say that as long as they haven’t broken the law, they’ve done nothing wrong. So, is it time for big companies to learn a bit of humility?

In his classic book After Virtue the philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre paints a picture of a world where some cataclysmic event has occurred that has somehow destroyed our understanding of science.

The body of knowledge which had been built up over thousands of years has been torn apart and only bits and pieces of it have survived. In this dystopia, our understanding of the world around us is fragmented and confused.

Arnault gives up citizenship bid, blasts French business culture

April 11, 2013

Bernard Arnault, second-gen chief executive of LVMH and France's richest man, has withdrawn his application for Belgian citizenship following continued accusations that he was trying to avoid the new 75% tax levied on incomes of more than €1 million.

"I explained several times that I would remain a resident in France and that I would continue to pay my taxes there. In vain – the message did not get through," Arnault told French newspaper Le Monde in an interview on 10 April.

Wealthy families missing chance to clear up “tax skeletons”

March 7, 2012

The Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility may have been in the news a lot recently, but many accountants in the UK are still unaware of the benefits it may offer wealthy families and individuals.

That’s according to a recent survey by UK-based accountancy firm Crowe Clark Whitehill, which found that a fifth of accountants do not understand the tax amnesty facility.

Sean Wakeman, a partner in the firm’s tax investigations group, reckons this would deprive wealthy individuals in the UK of a chance to clear up their tax arrears.