Tax Cheats Named By HMRC For First Time

HMRC has published the names of nine individuals and businesses which it says each owe more than £25,000 in tax.

The tax authority described those named as "deliberate defaulters" who had repeatedly failed to co-operate with the taxman.

HMRC said those on the list had already received penalties for either errors in their tax returns or for failing to comply with their tax obligations.

But it stressed that the entries were specific to certain dates, and those named may no longer be defaulting on their tax.

The details published included names, addresses, occupations and the total amount of tax owed.

The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, David Gauke, said: "HMRC is dedicated to clamping down on the small minority of people who break the law, and finding and taking action against tax cheats who try to evade their responsibilities.

"The publication of these names sends a clear signal that cheating on tax is wrong and reassures people who pay their taxes - the vast majority - that there are consequences for those who refuse to tell HMRC about their full liability.

"It also encourages defaulters to make a full and prompt disclosure and cooperate with HMRC to avoid being named."

The following were on the list:

:: Southport Leisure, a licensed bar and club on Coronation Walk, Southport

:: Joseph Tyrrell, a hairdresser from Prescot Road, Liverpool

:: The Trade Beverage Company which bought and sold wine on Marrion Drive, Cheshire

:: Rafique Maroof Raja, a licenced grocer from Main Street, Kirkcaldy

:: S Stewart, a pipework specialist from Bishops Court, Liverpool

:: David Alan Jay, who works in property maintenance from Roseberry Gardens, Essex

:: Gatemain Contractors, a building company, on Holly Road, Rochester

:: Menemis, a knitwear manufacturer trading as Unlimited Knits, on Byron Industrial Estate, Nottingham

:: Brian Clifford Tattersall, a coach operator from Pixmore Avenue. Bolton

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Fuel Prices 'Head For Highest Level Ever'

Motorists have been warned that petrol prices may soon reach their highest level ever.

The AA said sterling's slide and market speculation could push prices to record levels by Easter.

The warning comes as tanker drivers at the Grangemouth refinery, which supplies Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England, begin a three-day strike in a row over pay and pensions.

After surging 5p a litre over a month, the price of petrol at the pumps has gone up a further 1p in the last five days, the AA said.

It revealed that the average cost of petrol in the UK is now 138.32p per litre, with diesel having risen 4.78p from its mid-January price to stand at an average of 145.10p.

The latest figures show that petrol has risen 6.24p since early January, adding £3.12 to the cost of refilling a typical 50-litre tank.

The AA said filling up the 70-litre tank of a Ford Mondeo now costs £4.37 more than it did six weeks ago.

A two-car family's monthly petrol cost has risen £13.25 with the current price surge.

Petrol price breakdown over the past decade

It added that drivers have been caught between the pound weakening against the dollar and soaring wholesale prices, both due to stock market speculation.

Regionally, Yorkshire and Humberside and the north of England are the cheapest for petrol at the moment at 137.6p a litre, with prices in London and Scotland at an average of 137.8p. Northern Ireland is the most expensive at 138.7p.

Yorkshire and Humberside remains the cheapest region for diesel, averaging 144.2p, while East Anglia, Northern Ireland and southeast England are the most expensive at 145.2p.

AA president Edmund King said: "This latest surge in fuel prices and its impact on spending indicates that UK drivers and families can't take any more.

"We're no longer talking of the motorist as a cash cow for tax and speculator greed, but a horse slowly but surely being flogged to death.

"This is the third 10p-a-litre wholesale price surge in 11 months, given extra vigour by currency speculators betting against the pound."

Government revenue from fuel duty has also been hit hard as Britons reduce spending by cutting back on non-essential journeys.

HM Revenue and Customs figures showed that January's UK petrol sales fell to the lowest tracked by the Government in 23 years.

Drivers consumed 1.465 billion litres of petrol last month, down 14 million litres on the previous all-time low set in March last year and nearly 100 million litres below December's consumption of 1.564bn litres.

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Big Four Accountants 'Dominating Market'

An investigation into the UK's audit market has found that competition is restricted because it is hard for listed companies to switch accountants.

The Competition Commission (CC) said the so-called "big four" audit firms - Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers - dominate the market, as revealed by Sky's City Editor on Thursday.

But it did not find sufficient evidence of collusion between the accountancy giants to recommend breaking them up.

The watchdog said it was looking into a host of measures that could increase competition - including mandatory tendering for audits and mandatory rotation of firms by companies.

Its provisional findings, which come after over a year of investigation, highlighted that over 30% of FTSE 100 companies and 20% of FTSE 250 companies have had the same auditor for more than 20 years.

Britain's largest listed companies lack bargaining power, the CC said, given the difficulties in comparing alternatives and the costs involved.

Its provisional findings also highlighted that audit firms often ignore the interests of their primary customer - companies' shareholders - meeting the demands of management instead.

This is in part because it is the executive team that decide whether or not to retain the firms' services, the CC said.

As a result, it added, competition focuses on factors that are not in line with shareholder demand.

The chairman of the Audit Investigation Group, Laura Carstensen, said companies and their shareholders benefit from switching auditors.

"Too often senior management at large companies are inclined to stick with what they know, particularly when it is difficult to compare with the alternatives and the incumbent auditors are in a strong position to hold on to the business," she said.

She added: "It will undoubtedly be challenging to change a long-standing and entrenched system but our proposals will look to create a situation where tendering and switching become the norm, and where greater transparency and information increase both contestability of the market and the ability of shareholders to judge the service they are getting."

The Office of Fair Trading referred the market to the watchdog in October 2011, and it has until March 21 to respond to the outlined proposals.

The CC's findings come as the European Union looks at boosting competition in the audit market and the US considers introducing auditor rotation.

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'Prisons Are Run Better By Private Firms'

Private firms are better at running prisons than the public sector and all jails should be subject to open competition, according to a think tank.

The Government would be wrong to limit the role of private companies within prisons to small contracts, such as maintenance and catering, right-wing group Reform said.

Ten out of 12 privately-managed prisons have lower re-offending rates among offenders serving 12 months or more than comparable public sector prisons, a report by the group found.

Researcher Will Tanner, who wrote the report, said: "Twenty years of private prisons have created an effective market which is ready to grow.

"Evidence shows that a greater role for the private sector will advance the 'rehabilitation revolution' which ministers want to deliver."

Private firms have been managing prisons since 1992, but in November last year Justice Secretary Chris Grayling signalled a move away from wholesale privatisation as he decided four prisons, including G4S-run HMP Wolds, should be run by the public sector.

Two contracts to run five prisons - Acklington and Castington, which have since formed Northumberland prison, and three in South Yorkshire - will proceed to the next stage of the competition with an announcement expected next spring.

Mr Grayling said private firms will be brought in to all public prisons to run maintenance, resettlement and catering to save up to £450 million over six years.

Policy groups, including Reform, said the decision amounted to the end of competition for prison management between the public and private sector, although Mr Grayling insisted it did not rule out further prison-by-prison competitions in the future.

The report found 12 out of 12 private jails performed better than the public sector at "resource management and operational effectiveness", while seven out of 12 were better at "reducing reoffending".

However, seven out of 12 public prisons performed better than private jails at "public protection".

Justice Minister Jeremy Wright said: "Reoffending rates across the entire prison estate are too high and we are pressing ahead with major reforms to tackle this unacceptable problem.

"And let's be clear, there has been no U-turn on the use of prison competition.

"The cost of running our prisons is too high and must be reduced.

"The recent competition process identified a new approach for reducing costs and improving services aimed at reducing reoffending at a faster rate involving the private sector."

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Foxconn Denies Hire Freeze Has Apple Link

Apple's manufacturing partner Foxconn has denied that a recruitment freeze it has imposed is linked to slowing production of the iPhone 5.

Foxconn is not hiring new staff at a Shenzhen plant that makes gadgets, including the smartphone, but it has denied a report in the Financial Times that the move is a reaction to any single client.

The company, which has faced searching questions over labour conditions and its previous use of child interns on production lines, runs a network of factories across China which employ 1.2 million people making products for tech companies, also including Hewlett Packard and Dell.

In response to the FT's claim Foxconn said: "Due to an unprecedented rate of return of employees following the Chinese New Year holiday compared to years past, our company has decided to temporarily slow down our recruitment process.

"This action is not related to any single customer and any speculation to the contrary is false and inaccurate."

Apple sold a less-than-expected 47.8 million iPhones in the final quarter of 2012, fanning speculation that its dominance of consumer electronics was on the decline as Samsung and other manufacturers that use Google's Android software gradually gain market share.

Apple's share price dipped by 2% on Wednesday and are down about 34% from their peak last September as investors fret about sliding margins and intensifying competition.

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Sony Reveals Next-Generation PlayStation 4

Sony has released details of its PlayStation 4 console at an event in New York, its first major release since the PS3 in 2006.

Among other features, it will allow users to stream and play video games hosted on servers. Users will also be able to record their in-game footage and share it via social networks.

Sony said the console has an eight-core processor, giving it the feel of a "supercharged PC".

The look of the new console and its eventual price were not revealed at the event but a new controller was shown off.

The console's new controllers feature a touch pad and headphone socket

The DualShock 4 will have a touch pad and a "share" button, as well as a headphone socket and a light bar which can be tracked by a camera to detect where the player is, according to lead system architect Mark Cerny.

Sony said it is planning to release the console - in some countries at least - at Christmas.

Andrew House, group chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment, said: "Today marks a moment of truth and a bold step forward for PlayStation as a company. Today we will give you a glimpse into the future of play."

Sony purchased US cloud-based gaming company Gaikai for $380m in July.

Using their technology, Sony says the new console will also be able to stream games over Wi-Fi to the PlayStation Vita handheld console.

Gamers will also be able to access their friends' gameplay to help them out if they are stuck. 

Some of the console's first games were also announced at the event, including racing simulator Drive Club and first-person shooter Killzone: Shadow Fall.

The event is seen by many as an attempt to give Sony a head start ahead of Microsoft's expected unveiling of the next Xbox in June - at the E3 video game expo in Los Angeles.

Last time around, the Xbox 360 beat the PlayStation 3 to market by one year.

However, the new device arrives amid a decline in video game hardware and software sales. Research firm NPD Group said game sales fell 22% to $13.3bn in 2010.

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FTSE 100 Firms' Legal Liabilities Shoot Up

The amount of money Britain's companies have set aside to cover regulatory and legal costs has shot up, according to legal publisher Sweet & Maxwell.

It said the legal liabilities reported by the FTSE 100 companies jumped by 22% last year to £22.1bn - up from £18.2bn the previous year.

This reflects the amount companies set aside to cover regulatory and legal costs in 2013.

Aggressive fines are the main cause of the increase, Sweet & Maxwell said - rather than more legal cases between businesses.

The banking industry saw the sharpest rise following a year in which it was forced to pay out billions of pounds to customers mis-sold payment protection insurance.

Legal liabilities in the sector, which made almost 30% of the annual total, shot up from £991m in 2011 to £6.3bn last year.

But it was the oil and gas industry that was hardest hit, setting aside £8.1bn - although this was less than the £8bn clocked up in 2011.

The managing director of Sweet & Maxwell, Teri Hawksworth, said: "When the credit crunch started there was the expectation that legal liabilities would rise as commercial pressure led to more litigation between companies.

"What was not so widely forecast was that the biggest source of this pain would be from regulatory bodies."

These include the Financial Services Authority in the UK and the US Securities and Exchange Commission among others, she said.

Ms Hawksworth added that it remains to be seen whether the fines are a result of normal processes or because regulators and Government agencies are following public pressure to punish "big business" more severely.

Businesses are responding to the rise in these costs by broadening the role of in-house legal teams, she said.

"In-house counsel is moving from a role of just managing the costs of external law firms to clear up after a problem to taking a bigger role in ensuring that legal problems do not arise in the first place."

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Half Of Train Firms Lagging In Passenger Poll

More than half of train companies have a customer satisfaction score of 50% or lower, according to a Which? survey.

Overall, only 22% of train travellers feel their service is improving despite above-inflation fare rises in January.

Bottom in the 19-company satisfaction table was First Capital Connect, with only 40% of its passengers satisfied with its service.

The next least-satisfied passengers were those travelling on Greater Anglia trains,  with the company only scoring 42%.

Other companies where satisfaction levels were low included Southeastern (43% satisfied), First Great Western (43%), Northern (44%) and London Midland (45%).

Also below 50% were South West Trains (47%) Southern (48%) and Arriva Trains Wales (48%). The East Midlands Trains' figure was 50%, leaving 10 companies at 50% or worse and nine at better than 50%.

Top of the satisfaction table, compiled from responses from 7,500 regular train users, was West Coast main line operator Virgin Trains with a score of 67%.

First Capital Connect fared worse in the league table

London Overground was second with 65%, while the London to Tilbury and Southend company c2c and Merseyrail both scored 64%.

On London Overground, where new trains have been introduced in recent months, 60% of users said they felt the service had improved in the past two years.

But Which? said at the other end of the scale, a quarter of passengers reckoned they were now getting a worse service on London Midland where staff shortages have caused problems in recent months.

Which? said: "One First Capital Connect customer told us: 'The price has increased and the trains get more and more crowded. I never see any improvements for the extra money I am paying'.

"And a Southeastern passenger said: 'The prices are terrible, the service is bad and trains are often delayed, cancelled and dirty.'"

The survey also showed that 40% of train travellers are likely to reduce the number of journeys they make as a result of the recent price increases which have season tickets rise by an average of 4.2%.

But a third of commuters said they did not have an alternative way of getting to work and would just have to pay more.

Responding to the Which? survey, a spokesman for the Association of Train Operating Companies said: "The independent watchdog Passenger Focus surveys up to eight times as many people a year and last month reported 85% of passengers are satisfied with their service - a record high."

Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT transport union, said: "It is about time these basket-case private train companies like First Capital Connect were booted off Britain's railways for good and their franchises returned to public ownership.

"This current tolerance of these private rail spivs by the Government is reward for total and abject failure on an epic scale."

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Reader's Digest Files For Bankruptcy Over Debt

The publisher of Reader's Digest has filed for bankruptcy as it seeks to cut its debt burden of $465m (£300m).

RDA Holding Company, which owns the 91-year-old magazine, launched the action in a New York court on Sunday.

It is the second time in nearly four years that the venerable journal, once a mainstay in doctors' surgeries and grandmothers' homes, has sought to stave off closure.

The publisher has struggled to remain relevant in the digital age amid a shift by consumers from print to electronic media.

It has also tried to sell-off non-core elements as it tries to focus on its US market.

"We have had an ongoing process to simplify and rationalise our international business by licensing our local markets to third parties, to other publishers, to other investors," Reader's Digest boss Robert Guth said.

"And that has been a big part of our effort to streamline the company and bring in proceeds to bring down debt."

The eponymous title has relied on a lucrative subscription customer base and is estimated to be read by 26 million people, with 55 million copies sold annually in North America.

The firm publishes 75 titles worldwide, including 49 editions of the digest and three other titles.

The owners of Reader's Digest first floated the firm in 1990 and it was bought by private equity firm Ripplewood Holdings in 2007 for $1.6bn (£1bn), which included some $800m in debt.

The purchasers were subsequently hit by a massive drop in advertising spends and subscriber drop off amid the global financial crisis.

The 'Chapter 11 filing' was made in the US bankruptcy court in White Plains. The firm listed assets of more than $1bn (£645m) and debts of around $1bn ahead of equity restructuring agreed with Wells Fargo bank.

The final outstanding debt of $465m is forecast to be reduced by more than 80% to $100m  by the end of the bankruptcy.

Chapter 11 allows US firms to reorganise under bankruptcy laws when it is unable to pay its creditors or service its debt repayments and empowers the trustee to operate the business.

If a separate Chapter 11 trustee is not appointed the debtor acts as trustee of the business.

As it seeks new life in the digital domain the company said over 450,000 downloads of its iPad app have been made and cited its high ranking on the Kindle as positive signs.

"The much more modest debt level puts us in a position to continue to really execute these plans and push these brands forward well into the future, so it's a very good new lease on life," Mr Guth said.

"The Chapter 11 process, which will facilitate a significant debt reduction, will enable us to continue to redefine our business by focusing our resources on our strong North American publishing brands, which have shown a new vitality as a result of our transformation efforts, particularly in the digital arena."

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Home Ownership '£1,440 Cheaper' Than Renting

The cost of buying a home has become £1,440 a year cheaper than renting, according to new research.

Halifax found the average monthly costs associated with buying a three-bedroomed house stood at £621 in December, which is £120 cheaper than the typical monthly rent of £741 on a similar property.

The latest figures are an about-turn from December 2008, when buying a home was £217 a month more expensive than renting.

In recent years the gap has widened amid house price falls and record low interest rates which have made borrowing cheaper for those who can get access to a mortgage.

Meanwhile, increased demand in the rental sector from those struggling to raise a deposit or meet lenders' borrowing criteria has pushed up rental costs.

Home buying costs have declined by one third (34%) over the past four years, while average monthly rents have been pushed up by 14%, the study found.

The gap between buying and renting has widened by £21 a month over the past year. At the end of 2011, the monthly cost of home buying was £99 lower than renting.

Buying was found to be more affordable than renting in every UK region.

Buying is most affordable compared with renting in London, where the monthly difference is £193, while in Yorkshire and the Humber buying is just £1 a month cheaper than renting, Halifax found.

Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, said that while the "financial attractiveness" of buying a home has improved in recent years, the tough economy is still holding would-be home buyers back.

He said: "Concerns over job security and raising a deposit are the main obstacles to people buying their own home. However, it is worth noting that once home buyers are on the first rung of the ladder, their monthly costs are notably lower."

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Osborne Plays Down Talk Of RBS Share Giveaway

By Katie Stallard, Moscow correspondent

George Osborne has played down claims he plans to give British taxpayers up to £400 in Royal Bank of Scotland shares before the next election.

The Chancellor, speaking to Sky News at a G20 meeting in Moscow, said it was too early to consider handing out shares and returning the bailed out bank to the private sector.

His intervention came after reports that Economic Secretary to the Treasury Sajid Javid was exploring plans to sell the Government's stake by 2015.

The Chancellor insisted a sell-off could not happen soon because it would mean a huge loss to the taxpayer, but he notably did not rule out such a move.

Mr Osborne said: "It is just a premature discussion about what to do with the shares when we get to the point where they are worth what the country paid for them.

"Gordon Brown bought them at a price that they are not worth today and we have got to get the Royal Bank of Scotland to a point where it is worth what the taxpayer paid.

"Then we can have a no doubt big national discussion about what to do with the shares and how to return it to the private sector."

RBS was bailed out with £45bn in public funds in 2008 at the height of the financial crisis and is now 81% owned by the state.

Royal Bank of Scotland is 81% state-owned after a £45bn bailout

In Moscow for the finance ministers' meeting, Mr Osborne also renewed his call for a global tax crackdown and issued a warning about international "currency wars".

There is increasing concern about competitive devaluations between major exporting economies as they struggle to recover from the global downturn.

Japan has been criticised for weakening the Yen, which is down 15% against the dollar since September, to give its exporters a price advantage in the short term.

"These so-called currency wars are what in previous decades have led to huge problems in the international economy," the Chancellor said.

"I think people will be pleasantly surprised by the strong statement that you'll see from the G20 today that currency is not a tool of economic warfare.

"What we want to do in our own countries is put our own houses in order and make our economies competitive and our currencies will reflect that rather than being used as a weapon to achieve it."

On tax, Mr Osborne said current rules are out of date and that Britain would lead efforts to stop companies shifting their profits around the globe to avoid large bills.

"The international rules on taxes haven't kept pace with changes in the world economy, changes in the way we shop online and use the internet so we're taking action with countries like France, Germany, and the United States," he said.

"Britain is leading the way in getting a set of rules that mean that businesses can come to Britain, and Britain is one of the best places to do business, but also when they come to Britain  - they pay their taxes.

"It means that big international companies that may have their headquarters in one country, their shops in many other countries, may locate their so-called intellectual property in another country altogether, perhaps a low tax place like Bermuda or the Cayman Islands.

"They'll find that a more difficult arrangement because the international tax rules will change and they will have to pay taxes much more where the profits are generated - that's the objective."

But he acknowledged  that Britain could not act alone and that they needed global consensus to make it happen.

Just getting agreement on the need for a crackdown from the 20 countries represented in Moscow on Saturday would represent significant progress in itself.

Mr Osborne said: "There is no single law Britain can pass that will make this happen.

"This has to be done internationally and so we are working with other countries to make sure it does happen and that the tax laws which were actually created about a 100 years ago are appropriate for an economy of the 21st century rather than the 20th century."

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Michael Fallon Eyes £65bn Kazakh Trade Deals

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Michael Fallon, the Business Minister, will fly to Kazakhstan on Sunday in an attempt to help British companies win a share of $100bn (£65bn) in new trade deals.

Mr Fallon, who was promoted in last autumn's Cabinet reshuffle, will visit resource-rich Kazakhstan aiming to bang the drum for companies with a big presence there, including BG Group, the gas producer, and Rio Tinto, the mining group.

Trade ties between Britain and Kazakhstan are relatively modest in scale, with UK exports to Kazakhstan in 2011 standing at £530m, and UK imports just £459m.

British companies have won $7bn (£4.5bn) in contracts in Kazakhstan in the last ten years, but Mr Fallon believes the opportunity is much more substantial than that, with up to 15 times that sum available in contracts during the next decade.

"The French and the Germans are already there, on the ground, and we have to be relentless in pursuing opportunities for British trade," he said.

His trip will be the first by a business minister since the last general election to the central Asian country.

During talks with ministers and government officials, Mr Fallon is also expected to discuss the operations of GlaxoSmithKline and HSBC, which also have a presence in Kazakhstan.

Tens of millions of Britons do already have an exposure to the Kazakh economy through investments made by pension funds in companies such as ENRC, the FTSE-100 miner.

Mr Fallon's trip to Kazakhstan will come in the same week that David Cameron travels to India accompanied by the biggest-ever business delegation to visit the country.

The Prime Minister is expected to promote access to the vast Indian market for British retailers as well as discuss a string of major defence and aerospace deals.

His visit takes place amid deepening concerns that the UK's trade ties with India are faltering, placing the Coalition's target of doubling trade by 2015 in doubt.

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Home Ownership '£1,440 Cheaper' Than Renting

The cost of buying a home has become £1,440 a year cheaper than renting, according to new research.

Halifax found the average monthly costs associated with buying a three-bedroomed house stood at £621 in December, which is £120 cheaper than the typical monthly rent of £741 on a similar property.

The latest figures are an about-turn from December 2008, when buying a home was £217 a month more expensive than renting.

In recent years the gap has widened amid house price falls and record low interest rates which have made borrowing cheaper for those who can get access to a mortgage.

Meanwhile, increased demand in the rental sector from those struggling to raise a deposit or meet lenders' borrowing criteria has pushed up rental costs.

Home buying costs have declined by one third (34%) over the past four years, while average monthly rents have been pushed up by 14%, the study found.

The gap between buying and renting has widened by £21 a month over the past year. At the end of 2011, the monthly cost of home buying was £99 lower than renting.

Buying was found to be more affordable than renting in every UK region.

Buying is most affordable compared with renting in London, where the monthly difference is £193, while in Yorkshire and the Humber buying is just £1 a month cheaper than renting, Halifax found.

Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, said that while the "financial attractiveness" of buying a home has improved in recent years, the tough economy is still holding would-be home buyers back.

He said: "Concerns over job security and raising a deposit are the main obstacles to people buying their own home. However, it is worth noting that once home buyers are on the first rung of the ladder, their monthly costs are notably lower."

16.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

Osborne Plays Down Talk Of RBS Share Giveaway

By Katie Stallard, Moscow correspondent

George Osborne has played down claims he plans to give British taxpayers up to £400 in Royal Bank of Scotland shares before the next election.

The Chancellor, speaking to Sky News at a G20 meeting in Moscow, said it was too early to consider handing out shares and returning the bailed out bank to the private sector.

His intervention came after reports that Economic Secretary to the Treasury Sajid Javid was exploring plans to sell the Government's stake by 2015.

The Chancellor insisted a sell-off could not happen soon because it would mean a huge loss to the taxpayer, but he notably did not rule out such a move.

Mr Osborne said: "It is just a premature discussion about what to do with the shares when we get to the point where they are worth what the country paid for them.

"Gordon Brown bought them at a price that they are not worth today and we have got to get the Royal Bank of Scotland to a point where it is worth what the taxpayer paid.

"Then we can have a no doubt big national discussion about what to do with the shares and how to return it to the private sector."

RBS was bailed out with £45bn in public funds in 2008 at the height of the financial crisis and is now 81% owned by the state.

Royal Bank of Scotland is 81% state-owned after a £45bn bailout

In Moscow for the finance ministers' meeting, Mr Osborne also renewed his call for a global tax crackdown and issued a warning about international "currency wars".

There is increasing concern about competitive devaluations between major exporting economies as they struggle to recover from the global downturn.

Japan has been criticised for weakening the Yen, which is down 15% against the dollar since September, to give its exporters a price advantage in the short term.

"These so-called currency wars are what in previous decades have led to huge problems in the international economy," the Chancellor said.

"I think people will be pleasantly surprised by the strong statement that you'll see from the G20 today that currency is not a tool of economic warfare.

"What we want to do in our own countries is put our own houses in order and make our economies competitive and our currencies will reflect that rather than being used as a weapon to achieve it."

On tax, Mr Osborne said current rules are out of date and that Britain would lead efforts to stop companies shifting their profits around the globe to avoid large bills.

"The international rules on taxes haven't kept pace with changes in the world economy, changes in the way we shop online and use the internet so we're taking action with countries like France, Germany, and the United States," he said.

"Britain is leading the way in getting a set of rules that mean that businesses can come to Britain, and Britain is one of the best places to do business, but also when they come to Britain  - they pay their taxes.

"It means that big international companies that may have their headquarters in one country, their shops in many other countries, may locate their so-called intellectual property in another country altogether, perhaps a low tax place like Bermuda or the Cayman Islands.

"They'll find that a more difficult arrangement because the international tax rules will change and they will have to pay taxes much more where the profits are generated - that's the objective."

But he acknowledged  that Britain could not act alone and that they needed global consensus to make it happen.

Just getting agreement on the need for a crackdown from the 20 countries represented in Moscow on Saturday would represent significant progress in itself.

Mr Osborne said: "There is no single law Britain can pass that will make this happen.

"This has to be done internationally and so we are working with other countries to make sure it does happen and that the tax laws which were actually created about a 100 years ago are appropriate for an economy of the 21st century rather than the 20th century."

16.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

Michael Fallon Eyes £65bn Kazakh Trade Deals

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Michael Fallon, the Business Minister, will fly to Kazakhstan on Sunday in an attempt to help British companies win a share of $100bn (£65bn) in new trade deals.

Mr Fallon, who was promoted in last autumn's Cabinet reshuffle, will visit resource-rich Kazakhstan aiming to bang the drum for companies with a big presence there, including BG Group, the gas producer, and Rio Tinto, the mining group.

Trade ties between Britain and Kazakhstan are relatively modest in scale, with UK exports to Kazakhstan in 2011 standing at £530m, and UK imports just £459m.

British companies have won $7bn (£4.5bn) in contracts in Kazakhstan in the last ten years, but Mr Fallon believes the opportunity is much more substantial than that, with up to 15 times that sum available in contracts during the next decade.

"The French and the Germans are already there, on the ground, and we have to be relentless in pursuing opportunities for British trade," he said.

His trip will be the first by a business minister since the last general election to the central Asian country.

During talks with ministers and government officials, Mr Fallon is also expected to discuss the operations of GlaxoSmithKline and HSBC, which also have a presence in Kazakhstan.

Tens of millions of Britons do already have an exposure to the Kazakh economy through investments made by pension funds in companies such as ENRC, the FTSE-100 miner.

Mr Fallon's trip to Kazakhstan will come in the same week that David Cameron travels to India accompanied by the biggest-ever business delegation to visit the country.

The Prime Minister is expected to promote access to the vast Indian market for British retailers as well as discuss a string of major defence and aerospace deals.

His visit takes place amid deepening concerns that the UK's trade ties with India are faltering, placing the Coalition's target of doubling trade by 2015 in doubt.

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