Friday newspaper round-up: Top rate of tax, SSE, RBS

4th Apr 2014 07:31

George Osborne is facing demands to cut the top rate of tax again to 40p after figures suggested the wealthy had paid more tax since he cut the 50p rate. The amount raised from top-rate taxpayers is expected to increase by 9bn pounds in 2013-14, the year for which it was reduced to 45p by the Chancellor. Conservatives said that lowering it back to its pre-2010 level of 40p could raise even more money from the rich. - The Times The chief executive of SSE, one of the big six energy providers, has urged the industry to move away from its confrontational stance and embrace all market reforms that benefit the customer. Alistair Phillips-Davies also called on the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to undertake the widest possible investigation of all aspects of the sector in a bid to clear the air. - The GuardianRoyal Bank of Scotland today named Ewen Stevenson as its new chief finance officer, replacing Nathan Bostock who quit at the end of last year. Stevenson takes up the role on 19 May and joins from Credit Suisse, where he is joint head of investment banking for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. - ScotsmanA US Coast Guard report has concluded that authorities should consider hitting Shell with penalties over the grounding of an oil drilling rig in the Gulf of Alaska in 2012. The 152-page report, released late on Thursday night, blamed poor risk assessment and management as reasons why the Kulluk broke away from its tow vessel in late December 2012 and ran aground four days later on Sitkalidak Island, near Kodiak. - The Daily TelegraphOne of Scotland's largest companies, Weir Group, believes that independence will "guarantee" higher costs for business but produce few and uncertain benefits. The Glasgow-based engineering firm, which has about 15,000 employees worldwide, said an expert report it commissioned from Oxford Economics had found that taxes and borrowing costs would be likely to rise, while public spending would be cut after independence. - The GuardianEd Miliband is considering returning rail franchises to public ownership, the Labour leader confirmed yesterday, in a move that could mark a further move to the Left by the party. Mr Miliband is looking at allowing a state-backed body to compete alongside existing rail franchise owners such as Virgin and Stagecoach when contracts are put out to tender. However, he said that the plan had not yet been agreed because it had to be "affordable". - The Times AB