A company policy was not racially discriminatory just because it was unfair and the victim was from an ethnic minority. The case concerned a company whose policy on violence was to consider only the actions of the employee and to ignore any provocation. The company organised a works outing during which a Sikh employee was...Read More

Someone asked questions in insolvency proceedings must give the best answers he can, the court ruled in a case on a point of law not previously challenged. A director of two insolvenct companies was asked over 3,000 questions about these companies and other companies involved in transactions. The answers were unhelpful and sometimes deliberately obstructive....Read More

The DTI has wound up Century Mortgages Ltd and Mortgage Control Services Ltd on the grounds of public interest. The company sold remortgage packages through 3,000 licensees. The DTI found that the remortgage packages and the representations made to licensees were both based on false information. [2000]Read More

Rings used for body piercing must contain less than 0.05% nickel. The Dangerous Substances and Preparations (Nickel) (Safety) Regulations SI 2000 No 1668 [2000]Read More

Defective goods and services cost the UK economy £8.3 billion a year, according to research from the Office of Fair Trading. This figure measures only direct costs, and is regarded as the tip of the iceberg. Other points in the Director General’s report include: the greatest hidden detriment to consumers arises from anti-competitive practices at...Read More

The government has announced a range of measures to assist the Post Office, particularly in maintaining its rural network. The loss of business expected when social security benefits are generally paid into bank accounts is to be largely compensated by developing a “universal bank” in which Post Offices replace high street banks lost in rural...Read More

The government has tabled amendments to the law on tonnage tax in line with responses to consultations from the shipping industry and other interested parties. The tonnage tax is an alternative to the normal corporation tax regime for shipping companies. It is one of the measures introduced by the government to help the UK merchant...Read More

The government has made some minor amendments to its proposals for taxing international companies in the wake of the outcry against the Budget proposals, which have now been deferred. The changes: allow a non-resident company trading in the UK through a branch to follow its own accounting treatment where the branch accounts are prepared in...Read More

The rules on collecting tax on chargeable gains are amended to reflect a change in tax law regarding tax relief. Companies within a group may transaction assets between themselves on a no gain/no loss basis. From April 2000, this is no longer restricted to UK based companies within a group. Assets may be transferred without...Read More

The government has yet another bite at its proposals for tackling what it sees as tax avoidance by using offshore mixer companies. The main change is a recognition that there are circumstances when a limited form of onshore pooling of foreign tax on dividends is allowable and should necessarily be seen as tax avoidance. There...Read More