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Confessions of a Tax Avoider

Post Date: November 7, 2017

There have been extensive reports in the press about revelations contained in the so-called "Paradise Papers". One of the most intriguing of these has been the accusation of tax avoidance levelled at the Duchy of Lancaster, part of the Queen's private estate. I was therefore interested to read the details contained in this article in the Financial Times... and from it, I learnt that I am a tax avoider too! Before moving on to the specific issue, I will just point out ...

City of London Group – exemplary transparency, exemplary culture

Post Date: October 29, 2017

DISCLOSURE - I hold shares in CLIG and you should consider my comments in that light and with appropriate scepticism – DYOR! On 23rd October I attended CLIG's AGM and Investor Afternoon. These were well advertised, at convenient times and locations and open to all investors - as ShareSoc encourages all businesses to do. Roger Lawson and UKSA's Gerald Roberts joined me at the AGM, and Gerald for the Investor afternoon. A key issue which I raised at the AGM was succession planning, ...

Rbs Snub to Chris Philp MP and Next Steps

Post Date: October 21, 2017

Gavin Palmer was at the Tory Party Conference and in discussion with Chris Philp, MP, where it emerged that Chris had written three times to RBS asking Sir Howard Davies, RBS Chairman why they were objecting to our shareholder resolution for a Shareholder Committee. Regular readers will be aware that it was Chris who wrote an excellent paper covering Shareholder Committees in September 2016 which received wide publicity. See http://highpaycentre.org/files/HPC_42_WEB_amend_-_Restoring_Responsible_Ownership.pdf Despite Chris’ best efforts, RBS rebuffed his questions and refused to share their legal ...

ShareSoc and the GDPR: help wanted!

Post Date: October 20, 2017

As the director with responsibility for ShareSoc's IT systems, our board has asked me to look into the implications for ShareSoc of the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This regulation comes into force in May 2018, and there are severe penalties for non-compliance. GDPR completely overhauls the current Data Protection Act. I have had a preliminary look at the requirements for compliance and they seem rather onerous, even for a small organisation like ShareSoc. Considerable work is required to audit, document ...

ShareSoc fully supports the Better Finance Report on Pension Savings and its recommendations

Post Date: October 11, 2017

ShareSoc is a member of the Pan-European organisation Better Finance and commented “This is an important report that highlights the harm that inadequate returns give to long term savers. High fees are also hurting returns. The UK Pensions Fund are valued at £3.8 trillion and are by far the largest in Europe. It is important that the UK lead the way in this area. The recent appointment by the FCA of Chris Sier to chair the panel on costs disclosure is another ...