Business and Other Briefings

HM Treasury: Kitty Ussher, City Minister, has hosted the first meeting of the Islamic Finance Experts Group, which was set up to act as an industry sounding board for HM Treasury and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) on Islamic Finance.
 
The focus of the meeting was the Government's feasibility study into issuing sovereign sukuk and the potential benefits for the City and retail customers of the Government issuing sovereign sukuk.  Sukuk is an asset-backed, Shariah-compliant trust certificate. The closest instrument comparable in the conventional financial system would be a bond issued in relation to a securitisation.
 
The Government's aims for Islamic Finance are to:
* entrench London's position as a global gateway for Islamic Finance, and
* to create a level playing field for alternative finance & investments, such as Islamic Finance, in the retail market.
Press release ~ Feasibility study of the Government becoming an issuer of wholesale sterling Islamic financial instruments ~ Islamic Finance Qualification (IFQ) ~ Glossary of Islamic financial terms ~ Islamic Banking in the UK
 
HMRC: Revenue & Customs Brief 57/07
This Brief gives details of an article: Disclosure of avoidance schemes: New information powers.
 
HMRCRevenue & Customs Brief 56/07
This Brief gives details of an article concerning: Assets used partly for non-business purposes – delay in implementation of ‘Lennartz Accounting’ Regulations.
 
HMRCRevenue & Customs Brief 55/07
This Brief gives details of an article: Revised treatment of VAT incurred on home computers made available by employers to their employees.
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