Thursday newspaper round-up: Google Tax, Stamp duty, Heathrow...

3rd Dec 2014 20:32

The UK will launch a crackdown on multinational tax avoidance with a hefty new tax helmed by George Osborne. The 25% levy described as the 'Google Tax' will target big tech giants such as Apple, Google as well as other globally renowned firms such as Amazon and Starbucks, preventing them from shifting profits about to avoid making payments. he new regulation was announced in the chancellor's autumn statement, The Guardian reported. British Chancellor George Osborne has announced that stamp duty will be slashed for 98% of homebuyers in a regulation chance that will come into effect on Tuesday. Osborne addressed the Commons in his Autumn Statement, claiming that where the current system where the amount owned skips to particular price levels, the new system will be relative in a similar way to income tax. Labour has responded with claimed that his deficit reduction targets are "all in tatters", according to The Times.According to Gatwick's chairman, Sir Roy McNulty, Heathrow has created a fake community support campaign to build its expansion bid, The Telegraph reported. In a letter to Sir Howard Davies, chair of the Airports Commission due to decide on expansion, McNulty claimed that Back Heathrow, the campaign that supports the airport, wore "the mask of a community group when they are simply a campaign arm of Heathrow, set up and funded by the airport".The government has pledged to introduce £450m of tax breaks to rescue North Sea oil companies at a time of declining prices, soaring costs and steep output declines, according to The Guardian. George Osborne said he would cut a "supplementary charge" rate from 32% to 30% and extend existing breaks from six to 10 years, while providing a new allowance targeted on certain areas.According to The Times, a whistleblower has accused Royal Bank of Scotland of trying to minimise compensation for its mis-selling scandal. Customers were forced sold interest rates instruments "that were meant to protect them against a rise in rates, but thousands of companies were ruined when rates fell", the report claims.