Latest news with #Etherington
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Yahoo
Residents raise alarm about 'disgusting' behaviour: 'It's beyond a joke'
Residents in one part of Merseyside say the constant fly-tipping and discarded heavy duty rubbish is 'beyond a joke' and have raised concerns about the hazardous impact this is having on their community. In an attempt to better understand the scale of the fly-tipping problems in south Sefton, the Liverpool ECHO accepted an invitation from the street cleansing team at Sefton Council last month and accompanied them on their daily round. During the shift, the ECHO found multiple discarded mattresses, sofas and chairs, masonry, large cabinets and white goods such as fridges and freezers. This article was preceded by a series of ECHO reports about fly-tipping in Bootle including the case of Collette Etherington became a "prisoner in her own home" due to piles of rubbish blocking the exit to her house. Ms Etherington said the issues started four years ago and turned her home life into a 'living nightmare'. READ MORE: Suspect shot by police 'knew man and woman' stabbed in back garden READ MORE: Man dies at leisure centre A couple of weeks before this, the ECHO published a report about the despair felt by residents in Seaforth after mounds of heavy duty trash were left at the end of their street. This was followed shortly after by a fly-tipping report in the One Vision Housing-managed entryways behind Partington Avenue, Webster Avenue and Tumilty Avenue - all of them stacked with large household items and discarded debris. The latest issue of fly-tipping and heavy duty rubbish in Bootle was reported in the alleyways around Fernhill Road in Bootle. The issue was published to a local Facebook group by account 'Champion News' with the following post: "Sefton Council and One Vision Housing, when will this be addressed? "Change the entry system with verbal community engagement. Clear, maintain and monitor." The photographs accompanying the post prompted a number of replies expressing local concerns; one person commented: "That's disgusting no need. It must be infested with rats and a fire hazard." While another resident commented: "Getting beyond a joke this entry. Sefton Council when are you going to sort it out. It's not been cleaned for over two years sick of reporting it." However, residents acknowledge that both Sefton Council and One Vision Housing (OVH) are implementing plans to address the fly-tipping issue both in the immediate and long-term. In early April, Sovini - maintenance contractor for OVH - launched its Alleyway Strategic Action Plan with a clean-up event in Bootle. The initiative is specifically aimed at combating fly-tipping and improving the quality of life for local residents. Local community organiser, Mike Brennan is an admin of local Facebook group ' Bootle Action' and regularly posts updates about the fly-tipping issues around south Sefton and advocates for cleaner neighbourhoods. He said: "Fly-tipping is having a negative impact on our community. "Chucking waste in the entry is anti-social, disgusting and increases vermin activity. It also costs money, which could be better spent on providing services for our children and vulnerable residents. "We have become a throwaway society when a lot of the items dumped are in good condition and could be passed on." A spokesperson for One Vision Housing said it remains committed to improving the local environment, adding: "The fly-tipping issues raised at Fernhill Road, Bootle, are included in our wider programme of works for June, forming part of our Alleyway Strategic Action Plan. "We are working in partnership with Sefton Council to engage, educate, and enforce proactive measures. Additional measures include enhanced surveillance, a pilot waste disposal scheme, prosecution, and the recruitment of additional dedicated resources to implement this strategy. "Once all alleyways have been cleared, the schedule will restart to maintain the alleyways."
Telegraph
12-03-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Britain's wealthy flee to Italy and Greece ahead of April tax raid
Are you moving to another country to protect your finances ahead of the end of the tax year? Email us at money@ Wealthy families desperate to avoid high taxes are rushing to move to Italy and Greece before the end of the financial year, according to experts. British taxpayers are fleeing to low-tax regimes abroad before April 5, to make it easier to ditch UK residency in the coming tax year. Wealth managers cited Labour's inheritance tax raid, increases to capital gains tax, and the ending of the non-dom regime as the main drivers of the exodus. Under reforms from April, all UK resident individuals will pay tax on their worldwide income and gains, and the remittance basis, where residents only pay tax on the amount of income or gains they bring into the UK, will come to an end. Frozen income tax thresholds, which drag more people into paying higher rates, will remain frozen until 2028-29. Chris Etherington, of accountancy firm RSM, said Mediterranean countries like Italy and Greece were proving attractive destinations as they offer preferential tax regimes, similar to the non-dom rules that are set to be abolished in Britain in April. Non-dom status allows foreigners to live in Britain but avoid paying UK tax on money they make overseas. The rush to quit Britain before the new tax year means some people are leaving the country 'without a fully-formed plan', according to Mr Etherington. He added: 'There may be a bit of a Thelma and Louise philosophy: 'What if we just kept driving?' The key will be ensuring they do not drive off a cliff and land themselves in hot water with HMRC in due course.' Christopher Groves, a partner at high-end international law firm Withers, said he was seeing a 'huge spike' in clients moving to Italy, and a rush to make the move before the end of the tax year. He added: 'It's important to make sure you're gone by 6 April if you're going to leave next year. You need to have found your villa in Marbella or apartment in Monaco. 'The changes to non-dom and inheritance tax rules have pushed lots of people who didn't have a real plan to leave the UK to bring that forward, which means they're doing things in a less well thought through way. 'The world is so small these days, so it feels like a relatively easy step to take, but there can be practical difficulties.' You are automatically considered a UK resident if you spend 183 days or more in the UK during a tax year. However, moving abroad does not automatically cancel your UK tax liabilities. You may be considered a non-resident if you meet automatic overseas tests. These include spending fewer than 16 days in the UK in the tax year if you were not a UK resident in all of the previous three tax years, or spending fewer than 46 days in the UK if you were not a UK resident in any of the previous three tax years. If you do not meet any of these tests, your residency status may depend on the number of ties you have to the UK, such as family, accommodation, or work. Britain's tax burden is at its highest level in 70 years and is projected to reach near-record levels by the end of the decade. The 40pc rate of inheritance tax, in particular, is a 'really big motivation' for wealthy individuals deciding to move abroad, according to Mr Groves. He added: 'We're so out of step [with other countries]. You can go to Italy and [inheritance tax] is single digits if anything, in Switzerland it's nothing. Here, 40pc above £325,000 is confiscatory by comparison.' The Office for Budget Responsibility, the official forecaster, expects up to 20pc of non-doms to leave the UK because of the tax raid. However, wealthy Britons who are not non-doms are also moving to friendlier tax regimes abroad. Britain lost 10,800 millionaires to overseas countries in 2024, more than double the number who left in 2023. According to research by the Adam Smith Institute (ASI) think tank, each of the millionaires that left Britain last year would have paid at least £393,957 in income tax per year, equal to the income tax take of 49 average taxpayers. More than a quarter (28pc) of people with investable assets of more than £250,000 questioned by the bi-annual Saltus Wealth Index last month said they were considering leaving Britain within the next 12 months.
