UK ‘non-dom’ slap is right move for wrong reason 6 Mar 2024 Finance minister Jeremy Hunt scrapped tax benefits for people living in the UK but officially domiciled abroad. That improves fiscal fairness and may raise over $3 bln per year. But the benefits are uncertain and the funds went to pre-election giveaways, not public services.
Excessive UK tax giveaways risk longer-term harm 5 Mar 2024 Finance minister Jeremy Hunt may spend some 15 bln pounds in pre-election fiscal gifts in Wednesday’s budget. He could be tempted to do more – and make life difficult for the next government – by further cutting public services. But that would put the country in a bind.
Russia risk looms over Euroclear profit windfall 22 Feb 2024 The Brussels-based clearing house is a reluctant depository for sanctioned Russian assets. It made 5.7 bln euros before tax last year thanks to cash sitting on its balance sheet. But the bonanza also makes it a target. A blow to financial stability would far exceed one-off gains.
Britain is case study in death-duty dysfunction 24 Nov 2023 UK politicians have been mulling inheritance tax tweaks. Death duties are good policy, but the British version is beset with exemptions that favour wealthy landowners and pensioners. Given the problem may worsen, there’s logic in cherry-picking from better approaches overseas.
US deficit problem screams for revenue solution 23 Oct 2023 Rising interest costs threaten to widen a $1.7 trln budget gap already stretched beyond 7% of GDP. Lawmakers are haggling about spending, but the math only works with higher taxes. It means closing an inheritance loophole, charging the rich more and resetting the corporate rate.
Microsoft becomes unwitting fiscal honeypot 12 Oct 2023 A $29 bln back-tax bill amounts to 40% of the tech firm’s yearly earnings. It’s also enough to fund a new round of Ukraine aid, two years of tax collection or a decade of substance abuse treatment. Uncle Sam may lose the fight, but when budgets are tight there’s more to play for.
Big Four scandals will derail breakup plans 5 Oct 2023 EY and PwC are dealing with issues in their tax and consulting units. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists explain how falling valuations of rivals like Accenture as well as questions about the stability of consulting fees will mean these firms may stick together.
PwC Aussie mess is classic do as I say not as I do 29 Sep 2023 An independent review sparked by a tax-leak scandal lays bare governance failures at the advisory firm including an overly powerful CEO, a supine board, poor risk processes and, ironically, an aversion to external help. Fixing those is just the start of the company's turnaround.
Republican hopefuls’ deficit goals are all talk 24 Aug 2023 Conservatives vying for the Republican nomination vowed to slash the deficit in a debate. After years of spending under conservative leadership, it’s a throwback. Yet tax cuts and other costly projects are still key talking points. Worsened US finances make the agenda impossible.
DeSantis chose wrong Disney battle, right war 22 Aug 2023 Homing in on the $157 billion entertainment company was politically foolish. But the Florida governor is right that Disney's sweetheart deal doesn't make sense. Other similar arrangements are finite and fairer, and still end up bad for states' finances.
Capital Calls: Italian bank levy flip-flop 9 Aug 2023 Concise views on global finance: Rome has only partially soothed investors panicking over its windfall tax on lenders.
Capital Calls: Dish and EchoStar 8 Aug 2023 Concise views on global finance: Billionaire Charlie Ergen is reuniting the two satellite businesses he controls, beefing up the $4.5 billion Dish Network’s strained balance sheet as it tries to expand its wireless strategy.
Robin Hood tariff could curb airline emissions 24 Jul 2023 The aviation industry doesn’t pay duty on fuel despite causing 4% of global warming. A tax would promote cleaner energy and raise billions of dollars, but poor countries oppose it. Rich nations could break the logjam by giving some proceeds to the less well-off, says Hugo Dixon.
Windfall taxes get a breezy airing Down Under 14 Jun 2023 New levies on high coal prices accounted for a third of the $10 bln in resources royalties Queensland raked in over the past year. It helps the state invest in renewables, hospitals and childcare without trashing fossil-fuel firms’ margins. It’s how such tariffs should work.
Economic policies sacrifice poor Americans 2 Jun 2023 Smaller tax refunds, higher prices, and changes to food stamps hurt customers that shop at low-cost retailer Dollar General. Student loan relief is under threat, and other entitlements may be rolled back. Cash is being sucked from the system – directly from the poor’s pockets.
Global tax would spoil investors’ plastic party 1 Jun 2023 The world is drowning in waste, but demand for durable polymers is soaring. This may change if UN talks to end plastic pollution by 2040 succeed in introducing a levy. That will shrink a bonus market for Big Oil and cut packaging firms’ margins.
Intuit investors bet on Uncle Sam’s inept tech 24 May 2023 The US may allow consumers to file taxes online, bypassing private software. Surveys suggest a free option could threaten up to $2.9 bln in revenue from Intuit’s TurboTax arm. The $120 bln company and its shareholders are relying on the state failing to get its act together.
Transatlantic tech-tax truce is on a knife edge 23 May 2023 EU-US spats over levies on the likes of Amazon have taken a breather while a global pact advances. But sabres are rattling, led by French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire. Washington may well be patient with the pace of promised rollbacks, but any new levies would break the truce.
How do you solve a problem like AI? Tax it 18 May 2023 Generative artificial intelligence could put a rocket up company profits, and potentially leave millions jobless. The economic and social disruptions could be profound. But fiscal distortions make it hard to tide over the losers. Closing obvious loopholes is growing more urgent.
Canberra lets energy windfall slip through fingers 10 May 2023 Tweaking an arcane resources tax will bag Australia’s Treasury just $400 mln extra a year. It’s barely a drop of the bumper earnings oil and gas companies drilled from war-stoked commodity prices. A direct levy on outsized profits can better channel cash to the energy transition.