Recent news

Capital gains tax and stamp duty

Capital Gains Tax and Stamp Duty

The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) has recently been consulting on Capital Gains Tax and Stamp Duty. UKSA and ShareSoc have submitted joint responses to each of these consultations.

Capital Gains Tax (CGT)

Our view is that CGT:

Joint response to HM Treasury consultation on promotions

UKSA and ShareSoc have jointly responded to a consultation from HM Treasury on proposals for revised procedures for approving financial promotions by individuals and firms that are not authorised by the FCA.

UKSA and ShareSoc respond to ‘enormously important’ BEIS enquiry on Audit Reform

The submission stressed the enormous importance of the enquiry "in ensuring that much needed and meaningful change is achieved within audit, both as a service to users and as improvements to the profession".

It made proposals within six key themes:

Response to the IASB’s consultation on ED General Presentation and Disclosures

UKSA and ShareSoc have responded to the IASB’s consultation on “ED General Presentation and Disclosures”, part of their Primary Financial Statements project and focusing on proposed changes to mainly the statement of profit or loss, leaving statements of cash flows and balance sheets to later stages. This consultation is important to shareholders as users of financial statements and especially of the statements of profit or loss to understand an organisation's main business activities and financial performance.

Cancellation of social event planned for October

We regret to inform members that due to the continuing Covid19 situation we have had to cancel the planned AGM-style social event scheduled for 26 October.

Unilever facing potential exit tax in the Netherlands

The Financial Times and other outlets are reporting that Unilever could have to reverse its decision to relocate from Rotterdam to the UK if a political intitiative calling for the introduction of an exit tax in the Netherlands succeds.

Dubbed the “Hotel California” tax law, it would make Unilever liable for an €11bn exit penalty if it proceeds with its plan to establish a single legal entity in the UK.

The legality of the proposal is now awaiting legal opinion.

Shenanigans in Siberia: the Petropavlovsk Saga and Why Retail Investors Matter

One of UKSA’s key beliefs, as well as ShareSoc’s, is that private investors are important and their voice needs to be heard. The current, for want of a better word, shenanigans, at Petropavlovsk (POG) gives private investors a key role in determining the future of a company. Peter Parry from UKSA and Paul de Gruchy from ShareSoc take up the story. Paul is a shareholder in Petropavslovsk and notes that it is one of his favourite shares for trading.

Response to FRC discussion on using technology to enhance audit quality

Back in March 2020, in the context of various audit reform reviews and to help with their audit policy, the FRC felt the need to open up the discussion on the use of technology in audits to a wider range of stakeholders than regulators, standard setters and audit practitioners. UKSA and ShareSoc thought it was important to respond to this consultation from the point of view of a main consumer of statutory audits, private investors in shares in companies. UKSA’s and ShareSoc’s response, which was submitted to the FRC on 17th July 2020, can be found here.

Big Four must plan for audit split by October

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has just published a business case paper to separate the audit practices of the big four firms (PwC, Deloitte, KPMG and EY). Firms should provide a transition timetable to ensure that the principles of the paper are implemented “as soon as practicable” and that they are implemented in full by 30 June 2024 at the latest.

Collapse of Wirecard

Better Finance, the European Investors' Federation, characterised the Wirecard collapse on Wednesday as 'an outrageous case of corporate governance, external auditing and regulatory failures', putting forward several policy recommendations for EU authorities.