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by John Wannenburgh

Tony Benn the longest serving Labour MP in the history of the party - will visit the Isle of Man on 21st November as guest speaker at an Isle of Man Sporting and Dining Club Evening With event at the Gaiety Theatre.

With a flask of tea, some tobacco and his trademark pipe as his only props Tony Benn brings his unmistakable presence to his successful stage show at the Gaiety Theatre for one night only. A mix of politics, opinion and debate on various issues, followed by questions from the audience. Participation encouraged! Sponsored by Appleby, the event begins with an interview on serious and topical themes including the recession, war and nature. Tony Benn draws on his decades of experience, his political past and his startlingly alert 86 year-old brain, throughout what is certain to be an entertaining evening. A compelling speaker by anyone's standards, he is against university fees, nuclear power and the crown powers invested in the Prime Minister. He is opposed to war, and Africa not western muscle flexing holds the solution to Zimbabwe's troubles. He is despairing of NATO and concerned about the rise of the far right.

Quick witted and full of insight, Tony Benn remains informed and opinioned - on an amazing variety of subjects. Describing his role as the nation's classroom assistant, he yearns to encourage and is an undeniable treasure of our political and national life. Tony Benn was born in London and retired from the House of Commons in May 2001, after serving fifty years in Parliament. He was a Cabinet minister in the Wilson and Callaghan governments from 1964 - 79, Minister of Technology, Secretary of State for both Industry and Energy and President of the Council of European Energy ministers in 1977. An elected member of the National Executive Committee of the Labour party from 1959 - 1994, he was Chairman of the Party in 1971/2.

His published Diaries, in seven volumes, cover the period from 1942-1990, and the next volume 'Free at Last' from 1990 2001. Tony is the holder of seven honorary Doctorates from British and American universities, and he has recently been appointed as a Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics and is a regular broadcaster.

In 1949 he married Caroline Benn, educationalist and author of the biography of Keir Hardie who died in 2000 and they have four children and ten grandchildren.

Organised by John Wannenburgh of the Sporting and Dining Club, the event is a follow up to An Evening with Michael Portillo which was sold out in November 2011.

Tickets are available from 1st March at an early bird special rate of 12.50 by contacting 01624 600555 or http://www.villagaiety.com. After this time ticket are priced at 15.00 with concession rates available. John said: I would like to take this opportunity to thank Appleby for its support of our Tony Benn event in November. Whether you agree with Tony Benn or not, it is from his vast experience at the heart of national and international affairs, that he gleans his authority. He is fun and lovable, serious and informed, all at the same time, and that has the makings of a tremendously entertaining evening!

Managing Partner of Appleby in the Isle of Man, Sean Dowling said: We are pleased to support the Sporting & Dining Club as it continues to attract high profile speakers to the Isle of Man and I am looking forward to hearing the entertaining stories Tony Benn has to share. His visit comes at a topical time, when public opinion on politics and policies is divided, so I am sure there will be much to debate and discuss!, Sean continued, The Sporting & Dining Club events are a great opportunity for the Islands business and wider community to get together and socialise whilst also raising funds for a range of worthwhile causes. We are only too happy to be involved Issued by: John Wannenburgh, Isle of Man Sporting & Dining Club Tel/Fax 01624 617049

Appleby (Isle of Man) LLC (the Legal Practice) is a limited liability company with company number 000944L incorporated in the Isle of Man with its registered office at 33-37 Athol Street, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 1LB. Partner is a title referring to a member or employee of the Legal Practice.

More here:
Appleby To Support “An Evening with Tony Benn”

1 March 2012 Last updated at 17:00 ET

Police searching for a Cheltenham man missing in the Cayman Islands say his mobile phone has been found in the sea.

Nathan Clarke, 30, was reported missing on Saturday night on the island of Grand Cayman.

A spokesperson for The Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) said it was found offshore in about 3m (10ft) of water.

They said no other property was found and no trace of Mr Clarke had been found despite "extensive searches".

"Examination of the phone has confirmed it is Nathan's. Nathan's partner and his family have been made aware of the development," the spokesperson said.

The RCIPS also confirmed the last call made from the phone was at 20:07 GMT to 20:09 on Saturday.

"There was no further activity registered on that phone," it added.

Mr Clarke works as a teacher on Grand Cayman, and has lived there for about four years.

He was last seen near Calico Jack's beach bar on West Bay Road on the Caribbean island wearing swimming shorts.

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Missing man's phone found in sea

CHICAGO (AP) Turning up the heat on talks aimed at making sure nonprofit hospitals do enough charitable work, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn stuck to his Thursday deadline and authorized the Department of Revenue to resume decisions that could strip some health care institutions of valuable tax exemptions.

The Democratic governor's action came a day after negotiations failed to reach a compromise on how much charity care hospitals must provide to earn freedom from local taxes. The state had refrained from decisions on exemptions as negotiations proceeded.

Quinn's move further complicates his relationship with the powerful Illinois Hospital Association, which last month said it would vigorously oppose the governor's proposed $2.7 billion in cuts to projected Medicaid spending.

Illinois Hospital Association President Maryjane Wurth said Thursday that further rulings on hospital tax exemptions will distract from finding a legislative solution on the charity care issue. In a statement reacting to Quinn's announcement, Wurth said her 200-member group appreciates the governor's intention to restart discussions on possible new legislation that could be passed by the Legislature this spring.

But Wurth said the group is "extremely concerned" about rulings from the Department of Revenue.

"Requiring nonprofit hospitals across the state to pay property taxes would undermine patients' access to care, increase health care costs and damage an already fragile health care system," Wurth said in the statement.

Representatives of hospitals, local governments and advocates will reconvene talks early next week, said Quinn spokeswoman Brie Callahan, in an effort to find "a legislative solution that is both constitutional and recognizes the importance of hospitals in our communities and the need for widespread access to care for the uninsured."

The wrangling over hospital tax exemptions stems from a 2010 Illinois Supreme Court ruling that an Urbana hospital wasn't doing enough charity care to qualify for a tax exemption.

Last year, the Department of Revenue cited the 2010 ruling when denying property tax exemptions to three hospitals: Northwestern Memorial's Prentice Women's Hospital in Chicago, Edward Hospital in Naperville and Decatur Memorial Hospital in Decatur.

Five months ago, Quinn put a temporary halt on such rulings to give breathing room for negotiations on possible legislation, and set March 1 as a deadline for recommendations.

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Quinn lifts hold on Illinois hospital tax rulings

Springfield, Ill. - Turning up the heat on talks aimed at making sure nonprofit hospitals do enough charitable work, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn stuck to his Thursday deadline and authorized the Department of Revenue to resume decisions that could strip some health care institutions of valuable tax exemptions.

The Democratic governor's action came a day after negotiations failed to reach a compromise on how much charity care hospitals must provide to earn freedom from local taxes. The state had refrained from decisions on exemptions as negotiations proceeded.

Quinn's move further complicates his relationship with the powerful Illinois Hospital Association, which last month said it would vigorously oppose the governor's proposed $2.7 billion in cuts to projected Medicaid spending.

Illinois Hospital Association President Maryjane Wurth said Thursday that further rulings on hospital tax exemptions will distract from finding a legislative solution on the charity care issue. In a statement reacting to Quinn's announcement, Wurth said her 200-member group appreciates the governor's intention to restart discussions on possible new legislation that could be passed by the Legislature this spring.

But Wurth said the group is "extremely concerned" about rulings from the Department of Revenue.

"Requiring nonprofit hospitals across the state to pay property taxes would undermine patients' access to care, increase health care costs and damage an already fragile health care system," Wurth said in the statement.

Representatives of hospitals, local governments and advocates will reconvene talks early next week, said Quinn spokeswoman Brie Callahan, in an effort to find "a legislative solution that is both constitutional and recognizes the importance of hospitals in our communities and the need for widespread access to care for the uninsured."

The wrangling over hospital tax exemptions stems from a 2010 Illinois Supreme Court ruling that an Urbana hospital wasn't doing enough charity care to qualify for a tax exemption.

Last year, the Department of Revenue cited the 2010 ruling when denying property tax exemptions to three hospitals: Northwestern Memorial's Prentice Women's Hospital in Chicago, Edward Hospital in Naperville and Decatur Memorial Hospital in Decatur.

Excerpt from:
Quinn Lifts Hold on Hospital Tax Rulings

HM Revenue & Customs budget for tax compliance and enforcement has dropped by 3% over the past 12 months despite the need to claw back the dramatic decline in tax receipts.

A Freedom of Information request has revealed the budget for the enforcement and compliance line of the business for the financial year 2009/10 is 1,047m, and the spend allocated for 2008/09 was 1,080m a drop of 3% year on year.

A response from HMRC to the FOI request said: there is no expansion in enforcement and compliance budgets and there are therefore no transfers from elsewhere. New ways of working and improved targeting have, however, that we have been able to reduce tax losses by significantly more in 2008/09 compared to previous years and our targets for 2009/10 involve further reductions in tax losses.

Chris Chadburn, tax investigations specialist at venntax, madethe FOI request and said press reports that the department was pouring unprecedented funds into tax compliance and enforcement were inaccurate.

It went against the thrust of staff cuts across the departments. Its the first time theyve broken down their spending so it was difficult to tell what had happened to the enforcement and compliance resource, he said.

Chadburn said despite the pressure for HMRC to increase yield from enforcement and compliance measures, he is surprised theyre not throwing more money at it.

Peter Luff, chairman of the Commons business and enterprise committee, said he was surprised that the government makes a lot of play about cutting down on tax loopholes publicly but doesnt pour the means into this rhetoric.

He said enforcing the law around tax evasion should be a high priority. Theres no point talking the talk if you dont walk the walkyou can sound tough but youve got to be tough as well, he said.

According to a spokeswoman for HMRC, despite staff headcount reductions last year and future reduction targets of 5% per annum, the department has been able to justify the 3% drop in spend through improved yields.

She confirmed this has largely been delivered through the extension of risk-based tools which ensure we focus our efforts on the deliberately non-compliant.

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HMRC tax compliance budget drops 3%