Archive

BY KEITH NUTHALL
IF accountants want to give really useful advice to their clients that applies almost anywhere in the developed world, they should tell them to get married and have kids.

That would be the most logical conclusion that could be drawn from the latest Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) publication on tax, “Taxing Wages.”…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE INSURANCE sector may be so vulnerable to money laundering, its exposure should be probed in depth, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has said. Its report on Money Laundering Typologies concludes that brokers often have “little or no training in anti-money laundering issues” and are used to “place cash funds into various financial institutions.”…

BY ALAN OSBORN
THE EUROPEAN Union’s revised take-over directive is facing new obstacles following an unexpected decision by Britain to side with Germany in opposing a number of key aspects of the proposal. Thus far Germany has been alone in rejecting provisions in the draft directive, which would limit national mechanisms to frustrate take-over bids.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
NEIL Kinnock, vice-president of the European Commission, is to appear before the budgetary control committee of the European Parliament tomorrow (Tuesday) in a crucial session for the credibility of the Commission’s accounting procedures and possibly for Mr Kinnock’s own future in Brussels.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
THE EUROPEAN Anti-fraud Office (OLAF) is to summon accountants from the European Commission and other officials in an inquiry into allegations of misuse of EU funds donated to the Palestinian Authority. The OLAF probe will cover bookkeeping relating to charges made by members of the European Parliament that monthly payments of Euro 10 million (about Pounds 6.4 million) by the Commission are being used to fund terrorist activities.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
EUROPEAN Union (EU) Competition Commissioner Mario Monti is to ask his colleagues on the European Commission to ban two special tax regimes – in Netherlands and Belgium – while allowing a threatened taxation system in Ireland to continue.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
WEAKNESSES in scientific advice leading the European Commission to propose often controversial catch restrictions in European Union (EU) waters has prompted Brussels to propose a major overhaul of its assessment of stocks.

In a new policy paper (called a Communication) on the subject, the Commission admits the shortcomings of existing systems and suggests ways to better involve the fishing industry itself and other international organisations.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Court of Justice has thrown doubt on the legality of national food quality marks within the European Union (EU), through a judgement ruling that a ‘Markenqualität aus deutschen Landen’ (quality label for produce made in Germany) scheme breaks EU freedom of trade rules by excluding products made out of its home country.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
DRINKS industry giants are meeting with the World Health Organisation (WHO) later this month (February 12) to try and forge a global policy on lessening the health damage caused by alcohol. The meeting follows informal discussions over the past six months; companies attending the meeting manufacture more than half of all alcohol sold.…

BY SWINEETHA DIAS WICKRAMANAYAKA, in Columbo
SRI Lankan soft drinks companies have attacked their national government’s decision to continue imposing excise tax on their industry while planning to extend VAT to both the wholesale and retail distributors of the sector. Himal Fonseka, country-marketing manager for Pure Beverages Ltd.,…