Month: October 2021

Businesses in Scotland should ensure they complete their three-yearly land and building transaction tax (LBTT) return, with many potentially due a rebate, an expert has said.

Singapore’s law and home affairs minister K. Shanmugam has made an impassioned defence of the country’s soon-to-be-passed foreign interference legislation, which has been criticised by academics, civil activists, and the opposition for being too broad and lacking adequate oversight mechanisms.The Foreign Interference (Countermeasures), or Fica, bill has been touted by the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) as an urgent necessity given increasing instances of foreign meddling in countries’ local…

Singapore is looking to launch new vaccinated travel lanes by the end of the year and is in negotiations with several countries including those in Europe and also the US, Trade Minister Gan Kim Yong said on Monday, signalling continued caution even as other advanced economies open up.Gan, who is one of the co-chairs of the government’s coronavirus task force, said they were hopeful about the travel lanes given that pilots with Germany and Brunei have gone smoothly.“Vaccinated travel lanes are…

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter will run for president in next year’s election and her father’s long-time aide, who filed his vice presidential candidacy, will be her running mate, broadcasting firm ABS-CBN news reported late on Saturday.Sara Duterte-Carpio is currently mayor of Davao, the third-largest city in the Philippines, and filed on Saturday to run for mayor again. She has previously said she would not run for national office next year.ABS-CBN news based its report on an…

When Indonesia was ravaged by a second wave of Covid-19 earlier this year, you would have expected the bulk of scrutiny to be on the Delta variant and its rapid spread across the country. However, public attention was divided between the collapsing health system and the proliferation of billboards and banners across the country that highlighted political elites.One of those on public display is Puan Maharani, the current speaker of parliament and heir apparent to the Sukarno political clan. The…

Fears are growing in Islamabad that the United States is targeting its plans to expand the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) into Afghanistan, as punishment for enabling the Taliban’s return to power in August.Pakistan’s efforts to “reset” relations with the US, so as to avoid being caught up in its intensifying competition with Islamabad’s closest strategic ally China, have been cold-shouldered by the administration of Joe Biden.On September 14, as he was pointedly questioned by angry…

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday said he was retiring from politics, a surprise move that fuelled speculation he was clearing the way for his daughter to run to succeed him, despite her filing for re-election as mayor.The leader made the announcement after he accompanied his former long-time aide, Christopher “Bong” Go, to register his own vice-presidential candidacy with the ruling party at a Commission on Elections centre.Duterte, whose term ends in June next year, said many…

Local authorities, utility companies, Network Rail and public agencies such as Natural England, Historic England and the Marine Management Organisation should be subject to a new legal duty to engage in the planning process for ‘nationally significant’ infrastructure, experts have recommended.

A shift in mindset from defined contribution (DC) pension trustees, together with targeted regulatory action, is required to encourage more investment in illiquid assets and better returns for investors, according to a new report.

An increase in claims for tax credits for research and development (R&D) by small and medium businesses (SMEs) provides further evidence that the government needs to safeguard access to R&D tax relief for SMEs as part of its review into the R&D tax credit system, a tax expert has said.