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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.

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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%

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The UK Supreme Court has ruled that employees of UK companies who worked outside the UK could raise a claim of unfair dismissal in a UK employment tribunal, signifying far reaching implications for companies that employ UK expats.

The Supreme Court ruled that the employee (who worked outside the UK) has the right to file a case of unfair dismissal owing to his substantial connection to the United Kingdom. This brings clarity to the substantial connection clause for unfair dismissal cases in the private sector.

Facts of the case Ravat v Halliburton Manufacturing and Services Limited [2012] UKSC 1)

Read more at http://www.nair-co.com/UK-Employmentlaw.aspx

The Supreme Court Ruling

The UK Supreme Court has ruled that even though the employee worked outside the UK, he could file a case of unfair dismissal in a UK employment tribunal due to his substantial connection to the UK involving his employment.

Read more at http://www.nair-co.com/UK-Employmentlaw.aspx

About Nair & Co.

Nair & Co. provides you with your one touch outsourced finance, internal audit compliance, HR and legal department for your international operations. If you are expanding abroad for the first time, our turnkey solution will help you do so with minimal risk, stress and cost. We currently support more than 1000+ client operations in over 50 countries and have core offices in U.K., India, China, U.S., Japan and Singapore. Nair & Co. was named among the top 100 outsourcing services providers in the world by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP).

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UK Supreme Court Ruling to Impact Companies Employing UK Expats: Nair & Co.

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Calcutta News.Net Thursday 1st March, 2012 (IANS)

Goan expats across the continents of Europe, Australia and America are calling for a "total change of blood" in Goa's political system ahead of assembly elections Saturday.

Members of the Goan diaspora are beseeching their counterparts back home to vote for Goa's ecology and identity, especially when their forefinger hovers over the electronic voting machine (EVM), milliseconds before the punch down.

Carmen Miranda, former director of global social development agency Panos and a resident of Britain, describes the incumbent government in Goa in four words: "Despicable, irresponsible, incompetent and criminal". And she doesn't have much faith in the political rulers of the past either.

"If any candidate has in the past been a legislator or minister in any Goa government in the past 50 years, don't vote for them... People in Goa are disillusioned and have given up," Miranda told IANS on e-mail.

A news producer with Radio Adelaide in Australia, Frankey Fernandes claims there's simply no "messiah" on Goa's political horizon.

"However, it would be a welcome sign if well educated and people with clean backgrounds came and participated. It would be personally tough for them in this era of 'Goondaraj', however, one can always hope for the best," he said.

Goa goes to polls Saturday to elect a 40-member assembly.

In California, engineer and musician Rajan Parrikar is seething with rage against the political establishment.

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Goa expats want total change of political blood

OTTAWA A Liberal senator says the federal government isnt doing enough to catch tax cheats who stash money in overseas havens.

Percy Downe says the government has the names of more than 100 people who hold million of dollars in Liechtenstein bank accounts, but hasnt cracked down.

The Prince Edward Island Liberal senator says the Canada Revenue Agency managed to recoup only $6 million in taxes and interest from these people last year.

In a release, Downe says the government seems to be bending the rules to let some of them off the hook.

He says another 1,700 Canadians are known to have accounts in just a single Swiss bank.

Downe adds that at a time when the government is scrambling to deal with the deficit, theres no excuse for letting tax cheats off easy.

Not one penny has been assessed in fines, he said of the Liechtenstein cases.

That is because not one charge has been laid. In the four years since this information has come to light, not one of these Canadians who have hidden their money abroad to avoid paying taxes in Canada have stood before a judge, in Canada or overseas.

Downe, a former chief of staff to Jean Chretien who was named to the Senate by his boss in 2003, says its a matter of fairness.

Tax fairness, like justice, must be seen to be done, he said. Honest, law-abiding, taxpaying Canadians should not have to feel let down by a federal government unable or unwilling to make a serious effort to recoup monies from Canadians who try to avoid paying their fair share.

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A call to crack down on tax cheats with overseas bank accounts