Spanish banking sytem going for a bust?

Yesterday, the Daily Telegraph published a thoughtful article on the Spanish banking system saying that the national market for mortgage-backed securities has shut down.
The major Spanish banks and savings banks are making major borrowings direct from the
European Central Bank (ECB). There is concern about the Spanish property market, which I think is way overpriced. The market for costa properties has stopped functioning and there is going to be a bit of a bust after so many boom years.
However, it is still a great place to live!

Is it goodbye to the Non-Doms?

There was an interesting article in last Saturday's Daily Telegraph with the
title "UK TAKES A GAMBLE AS TAX CHANGES LOOK SET TO DRIVE NON-DOMICILES AWAY".
The article considers that the proposed legislation could have a serious impact
on London as a financial centre (more than Red Ken's drinking?).

I still wish I was a Non-Dom and fly away to Geneva or Monte Carlo despite
their lack of Premier League entertainment. Apparently, there could be a fall
in prices of premium properties in the United Kingdom's capital.

Anything involving HM Revenue and Customs
is going to be overly-complicated and the Telegraph comes up with a couple of examples.

Religion and tax evasion/tax avoidance.

I thought I take a look at religion and the knotty problems of tax evasion and
tax avoidance. Last year AccountancyAge reported that the Roman Catholic leader
Pope Benedict XVI was going to back then Italian prime minister Roman Prodi's campaign against tax evasion. The pontiff was to emphasise taxes benefit the whole of society.

This is probably not the case in the United Kingdom where health expenditure, funded by general taxation, has become heavily-skewed towards Labour Party constituencies.
I can't understand why the Tories don't oppose this.

Back to the Pope, who has resisted Gordon Brown's invitations to make a visit to
Britain, is using an encylical to emphasise that tax evasion is socially unjust.

Is British prime minister Gordon Brown insane?

Is British prime minister Gordon Brown insane? I suppose that it is a leading question but I was spluttering into my cornflakes this morning when I read the
following in the Daily Telegraph:
""Every unemployed person should have a skills check to make sure that Britain raises its skills game to world-class."
Does Gordon believe this guff? What unemployed people need is probably a supply of local low-skilled jobs, possible incentives of lower benefits and improved education
opportunities. None of these are going to happen in today's
United Kingdom.
Most of the new jobs created in Britain have gone to immigrants and unless the
government reverses that policy then unemployment is going to be stubbornly
high.

Matthew Parris has another go at Gordon Brown!

Saturday Times' columnist and former Tory MP, Matthew Parris, has had another go at
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. In the affair of Peter Hain, elsewhere described as the Cuprinol kid, Parris claims that Brown seems to be franchising out his moral compass to contractors (Electoral Commission etc). The columnist contends that the Prime Minister should have either backed or sacked Hain, who overlooked
£103,000 in donations.
U.S readers might start giggling at the small amount given the massive amounts that
slosh through their democratic system. Anyway quite a few Labour MPs are having to explain themselves for infringing rules they actually brought it such as Harriet Harman, who actually beat Hain amongst others to become deputy leader of the
Labour Party.

Peter Hain walks the plank.

British Labour politician Peter Hain has walked the plank. He resigned from the Cabinet post of Work and Pensions minister. Famously, he was not a details man and
was probably in the wrong job. Hain certainly forgot to inform the authorities of
the various donations to his failed campaign to become deputy leader of the Labour Party. The Neath member of parliament was scuppered by the lack of support from Prime Minister Gordon Brown and by the Electoral Commission referring the case to the
police.
It is amazing the turn around by the UK Chancellor Alistair Darling on the issue of Capital Gains Tax. His original plans were hit by major criticism. There is to be a 18% rate and an ending of taper relief.
If in doubt about Captial Gains tax you can contact an accountant via www.searchaccountant.co.uk

Roger Wood & Co publishes January newsletter.

Dorset based accountancy firm Roger Wood & Co has just published a news letter for January. One of the articles is on the new invoice rules for VAT.http://www.rogerwoodltd.co.uk/newsletter.asp?switch=9559

Gordon Brown struggling with pay reviews.

It is intersting to see Gordon Brown,uk prime minster,is struggling with the pay reviews of the public sector. While trying to persuade his own colleagues in Parliament to be more moderate in their own pay demands.