Matthew Brooker

1 month ago | bloomberg.com | Matthew Brooker

Need water? (Bloomberg Opinion) -- There’s nothing wrong in principle with paying retention bonuses to employees during a takeover. A buyer doesn’t want key staff walking out before it’s had a chance to get its feet under the table and decide who it needs to keep. So the anger directed at Thames Water Utilities Ltd. over the financial incentives it planned to hand to senior executives was arguably misplaced from a corporate governance perspective.

1 month ago | bloomberg.com | Matthew Brooker

A tavern’s lament. (Bloomberg Opinion) -- A glorious summer has been unfolding in London, and the city’s mayor is pushing for more outdoor dining and longer opening hours for restaurants, bars and entertainment venues. Who could object to an expansion of European-style cafe culture in the brief interval when the weather is so inviting? The Trafalgar Tavern in Greenwich offers an example of why the path ahead may be less clear than the skies overhead.

1 month ago | bloomberg.com | Matthew Brooker

The latest row over UK national insurance suggests the tax should be abolished. (Bloomberg Opinion) -- For the second time in little more than six months, Britain's Labour government finds itself mired in a controversy over national insurance contributions. The latest row may be contrived, but it illustrates the murkiness and confusion surrounding a tax that tens of millions of people pay — but almost no one understands.

1 month ago | news.bloombergtax.com | Matthew Brooker

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1 month ago | news.bloomberglaw.com | Matthew Brooker

For the second time in little more than six months, Britain’s Labour government finds itself mired in a controversy over national insurance contributions. The latest row may be contrived, but it illustrates the murkiness and confusion surrounding a tax that tens of millions of people pay — but almost no one understands. As part of the free-trade deal concluded with India last week, the government agreed to exempt employees on temporary assignment in the UK from this payroll tax.