Latest news with #Compass
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
How Trump's ‘revenge tax' brought the world to its knees
When Donald Trump unveiled his 'One Big Beautiful Bill' last month, all the focus was on how the president's trillions of tax cuts might blow out America's budget bottom line. But hidden within the bill's 1,000-plus pages was a clause that set alarm bells ringing in boardrooms at many of Britain's biggest companies. In section 899 of the bill, Trump proposed what has become known as a 'revenge tax', which gave him a new power to punish countries that had tax regimes he didn't like. If Britain's taxes displeased him – and they do – he could ratchet up US taxes on British companies' American operations to blood-curdling levels. Every year, British companies would face an extra 5pc tax hit on earnings from their US operations, with the rate maxing out at 50pc. The threat was a devastating one. British companies with big US exposure include the food giant Compass, the big pharma pair GSK and AstraZeneca, Barclays, British American Tobacco, drinks conglomerate Diageo, goods manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser and Intercontinental Hotels Group. All are listed on the London Stock Exchange, meaning Trump's threat could have been devastating for the already beleaguered index. The response was immediate. Business leaders and lobby groups quickly began knocking on Rachel Reeves's door, sounding the alarm and urging the Chancellor to get on the case with Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary. Reeves got the message. She raised the S899 tax threat with Bessent when he came to London for trade talks with the Chinese in early June. By then, though, the bill was breezing through the House of Representatives and into the Senate, with the only change being a tweak to ensure investors in US Treasury bonds weren't affected by the 'revenge tax'. Businesses began weighing up Plan B. All the options for coping with the revenge tax were expensive and disruptive, ranging from pulling money out of the US to beat the higher rate to scaling back US investments, or dual-listing their stock in New York. Some even considered the nuclear option of spinning off their American businesses altogether. The public debate on S899 hasn't matched the anxiety behind closed doors. Companies were reluctant to speak out, fearing Trump's wrath. But the clock was ticking. Trump wants his Big Beautiful Bill to become law by July 4. With less than a week to go, there was still no public sign that his team, or the Republicans in Congress, were ready to compromise. On Thursday night, though, the tax bloodbath was averted. Bessent announced that he'd extracted surrender terms from the finance ministers of the G7 – Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada – and told Congress to drop section 899. 'It's a big relief,' says Emanuel Adam, a Washington-based executive director at the lobby group British American Business. CS Venkatakrishnan, the Barclays chief, called it 'welcome progress, and a significant outcome for a great many UK companies like Barclays that invest in the US'. But a deal with Trump always comes at a price. The main target of s899 was efforts to impose a global minimum corporation tax, part of a OECD-led initiative, and in particular the Under-Taxed Profits Rule (UTPR). This aims to ensure that multinational companies always pay a tax rate of at least 15pc on their earnings, rather than being able to shelter profits in lower-tax countries. Bessent says the G7 will now not impose that levy on US businesses. The risk now, observers say, is that an American exemption to the UTPR could start to unravel that whole process, sending the world back into the rabbit warren of widespread tax avoidance. 'The biggest success has been to get a load of low-tax or no-tax countries, like the Gulf states and most of the island tax havens, to up their company tax rate to 15pc,' says Tim Sarson, the head of tax policy at KPMG UK. 'If they think they can reduce that rate and attract US companies to their jurisdiction, that might start to unpick the new system more widely.' Digital services taxes, which were one of Trump's explicit targets of s899, are still on the table. The president sees these as unfair imposts on American tech giants, but The Telegraph understands these will be fought over as part of his trade negotiations with individual countries, rather than as part of this deal. Closer to home, there's the question of whether the s899 deal will deliver yet another blow to Reeves's already shattered Budget. The Office for Budget Responsibility has estimated that the OECD 'Pillar Two' deal, which includes the global minimum tax rate and the UTPR, would deliver £1.3bn of extra revenue this financial year and next, climbing to £1.5bn by 2029-30. Most of this, though, would come from a different part of Pillar Two, which targets UK companies with subsidiaries in offshore tax havens, rather than US businesses. Tax experts say revenue from the UTPR, which the UK would collect from foreign companies, would be difficult to model and likely have only a small impact on the OBR's forecast. Even if there is a hit to Britain's tax take, it may have been a price worth paying to shield Britain's corporate A-list from Trump's brutal tax. With many blue chip companies reporting their annual or half-yearly results next month, boards were preparing and planning for the inevitable questions from alarmed shareholders. Many were evaluating what could be done to minimise the impact in the short term, in the hope that the political weather in the US might change after the Congressional midterm elections next year and the presidential election in 2028. 'I don't think companies would have retracted their investments or stalled major plans, but it would create additional friction. Projects might have taken longer,' British American Business's Adam says. 'Companies are agile, and companies know how to adjust. But this would have consumed resources and money that could be spent on other things.' Although the immediate crisis seems to have passed, the Trump administration may have inflicted some lingering damage on the confidence that UK companies and investors have in the US as a place to do business. It just doesn't look quite like the safe, secure and stable proposition it used to be. Joe Dabrowski, of the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, says that when you add the s899 scare to the tariff threats, Trump's fight with Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chairman, and his radical surgery on corporate governance, the sum total is much greater uncertainty. 'It all creates an environment where investors just have to tread more carefully. There is a lot more thinking and due diligence and risk you have to factor in,' he says. 'Some of it might just be white noise and political posturing, but at times it's very difficult to tell the difference between that and reality.' And although Reeves probably had little choice but to yield to Trump, the G7's readiness to give way has probably only increased that risk. 'There's the fear, which I'm sure UK Treasury has as well, that if you give the Americans this, then the next time they're unhappy about something, they'll try the same trick,' says KPMG's Sarson. With the mercurial Trump barely started on his four-year term, British businesses should probably just put those contingency plans in a drawer, rather than feed them to the shredder. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
How Trump's ‘revenge tax' brought the world to its knees
When Donald Trump unveiled his 'One Big Beautiful Bill' last month, all the focus was on how the president's trillions of tax cuts might blow out America's budget bottom line. But hidden within the bill's 1,000-plus pages was a clause that set alarm bells ringing in boardrooms at many of Britain's biggest companies. In section 899 of the bill, Trump proposed what has become known as a 'revenge tax', which gave him a new power to punish countries that had tax regimes he didn't like. If Britain's taxes displeased him – and they do – he could ratchet up US taxes on British companies' American operations to blood-curdling levels. Every year, British companies would face an extra 5pc tax hit on earnings from their US operations, with the rate maxing out at 50pc. The threat was a devastating one. British companies with big US exposure include the food giant Compass, the big pharma pair GSK and AstraZeneca, Barclays, British American Tobacco, drinks conglomerate Diageo, goods manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser and Intercontinental Hotels Group. All are listed on the London Stock Exchange, meaning Trump's threat could have been devastating for the already beleaguered index. The response was immediate. Business leaders and lobby groups quickly began knocking on Rachel Reeves's door, sounding the alarm and urging the Chancellor to get on the case with Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary. Reeves got the message. She raised the S899 tax threat with Bessent when he came to London for trade talks with the Chinese in early June. By then, though, the bill was breezing through the House of Representatives and into the Senate, with the only change being a tweak to ensure investors in US Treasury bonds weren't affected by the 'revenge tax'. Businesses began weighing up Plan B. All the options for coping with the revenge tax were expensive and disruptive, ranging from pulling money out of the US to beat the higher rate to scaling back US investments, or dual-listing their stock in New York. Some even considered the nuclear option of spinning off their American businesses altogether. Fearing Trump's wrath The public debate on S899 hasn't matched the anxiety behind closed doors. Companies were reluctant to speak out, fearing Trump's wrath. But the clock was ticking. Trump wants his Big Beautiful Bill to become law by July 4. With less than a week to go, there was still no public sign that his team, or the Republicans in Congress, were ready to compromise. On Thursday night, though, the tax bloodbath was averted. Bessent announced that he'd extracted surrender terms from the finance ministers of the G7 – Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada – and told Congress to drop section 899. 'It's a big relief,' says Emanuel Adam, a Washington-based executive director at the lobby group British American Business. CS Venkatakrishnan, the Barclays chief, called it 'welcome progress, and a significant outcome for a great many UK companies like Barclays that invest in the US'. But a deal with Trump always comes at a price. The main target of s899 was efforts to impose a global minimum corporation tax, part of a OECD-led initiative, and in particular the Under-Taxed Profits Rule (UTPR). This aims to ensure that multinational companies always pay a tax rate of at least 15pc on their earnings, rather than being able to shelter profits in lower-tax countries. Bessent says the G7 will now not impose that levy on US businesses. The risk now, observers say, is that an American exemption to the UTPR could start to unravel that whole process, sending the world back into the rabbit warren of widespread tax avoidance. 'The biggest success has been to get a load of low-tax or no-tax countries, like the Gulf states and most of the island tax havens, to up their company tax rate to 15pc,' says Tim Sarson, the head of tax policy at KPMG UK. 'If they think they can reduce that rate and attract US companies to their jurisdiction, that might start to unpick the new system more widely.' Digital services taxes, which were one of Trump's explicit targets of s899, are still on the table. The president sees these as unfair imposts on American tech giants, but The Telegraph understands these will be fought over as part of his trade negotiations with individual countries, rather than as part of this deal. Closer to home, there's the question of whether the s899 deal will deliver yet another blow to Reeves's already shattered Budget. The Office for Budget Responsibility has estimated that the OECD 'Pillar Two' deal, which includes the global minimum tax rate and the UTPR, would deliver £1.3bn of extra revenue this financial year and next, climbing to £1.5bn by 2029-30. Most of this, though, would come from a different part of Pillar Two, which targets UK companies with subsidiaries in offshore tax havens, rather than US businesses. Tax experts say revenue from the UTPR, which the UK would collect from foreign companies, would be difficult to model and likely have only a small impact on the OBR's forecast. Price worth paying Even if there is a hit to Britain's tax take, it may have been a price worth paying to shield Britain's corporate A-list from Trump's brutal tax. With many blue chip companies reporting their annual or half-yearly results next month, boards were preparing and planning for the inevitable questions from alarmed shareholders. Many were evaluating what could be done to minimise the impact in the short term, in the hope that the political weather in the US might change after the Congressional midterm elections next year and the presidential election in 2028. 'I don't think companies would have retracted their investments or stalled major plans, but it would create additional friction. Projects might have taken longer,' British American Business's Adam says. 'Companies are agile, and companies know how to adjust. But this would have consumed resources and money that could be spent on other things.' Damage to confidence Although the immediate crisis seems to have passed, the Trump administration may have inflicted some lingering damage on the confidence that UK companies and investors have in the US as a place to do business. It just doesn't look quite like the safe, secure and stable proposition it used to be. Joe Dabrowski, of the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, says that when you add the s899 scare to the tariff threats, Trump's fight with Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chairman, and his radical surgery on corporate governance, the sum total is much greater uncertainty. 'It all creates an environment where investors just have to tread more carefully. There is a lot more thinking and due diligence and risk you have to factor in,' he says. 'Some of it might just be white noise and political posturing, but at times it's very difficult to tell the difference between that and reality.' And although Reeves probably had little choice but to yield to Trump, the G7's readiness to give way has probably only increased that risk. 'There's the fear, which I'm sure UK Treasury has as well, that if you give the Americans this, then the next time they're unhappy about something, they'll try the same trick,' says KPMG's Sarson. With the mercurial Trump barely started on his four-year term, British businesses should probably just put those contingency plans in a drawer, rather than feed them to the shredder.
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Welcome to 'The Koa Lanai House'
Welcome to 'The Koa Lanai House,' a custom-designed architectural masterpiece by the late Patrick Killen, AIA – founder of Studio 9one2 and a pioneer of modernist beach design in Los Angeles. Set on a rare 3,524 sq ft corner lot just moments from the sand, this striking residence offers panoramic views from Malibu to Palos Verdes, including both Manhattan and Hermosa Beach piers – alongside exceptional indoor-outdoor living rarely found this close to the beach. Location: 2114 Manhattan Avenue, Hermosa Beach, 90254 Asking Price: $8,500,000 Year Built: 2008 Living Area: 3,636 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms Features: Oversized corner lot; panoramic ocean views; open-concept layout; high ceilings; multiple terraces; Brazilian cherry wood floors; Sub-Zero refrigerator; Viking 6-burner range; wine fridge; 9.5-ft custom Acacia Koa wood island; in-ceiling speakers; 135' projection screen; full gym; 3-car garage Contact: Compass Lauren Forbes, DRE#: 01295248310.901.8512Lauren@ Jagger Kroener, DRE#: 01984562310.993.6044Jagger@
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
RepTrak Previews Compass -- A Global Strategic Reputation Intelligence Platform that is More Than a Score
BOSTON, June 27, 2025 /CNW/ -- The RepTrak Company™, the global leader in reputation intelligence for over 20 years, unveils RepTrak Compass™, its most advanced and globally scalable platform to date. Launching this July, Compass empowers Chief Communications Officers and C-suite leaders to not just monitor stakeholder reputation, but to actively shape it with speed, precision, and confidence. More than a score, Compass is the only truly integrated global solution for reputation intelligence — combining RepTrak's world-class Global Advisory expertise with AI-enabled navigation. Designed for today's dynamic stakeholder environment, Compass enables leaders to shift from measuring reputation to actively shaping it. "Compass was engineered to deliver what today's executives need most — fast, reliable intelligence that drives action," says Chip Garate, Chief Product and Technology Officer at RepTrak. "Where do we stand with each stakeholder group? What reputational risks are emerging? Where should we act? Compass delivers not just data or a score — it delivers clarity, confidence, and direction." With two decades of reputation science and global benchmarking across 60+ countries, Compass is built on the most trusted foundation in the industry. RepTrak's expertise and experience in advising the world's largest global brands means there is nothing we haven't seen and everything we've learned is built into this platform. RepTrak would like to extend a special thank you to the members of its Customer Advisory Council, comprised of Fortune 500 companies, for their invaluable insights and partnership in shaping the development of Compass. Their input was instrumental in ensuring the platform meets the most critical and real-time needs of today's reputation leaders. Compass is not just a step forward, it's the future of reputation leadership. It unites insight and action across geographies, stakeholder groups, and leadership levels, helping today's teams lead with clarity and confidence. Compass Delivers Global Strategic Advantage Through: Multi-Stakeholder Tracking and Prioritization Continuous visibility into the perceptions of Employees, Policymakers, Media, Investors, Customers, and the Informed Public — locally and globally. Executive-Ready Reporting ToolsProvide C-suite and Board leaders with clear, concise data visualizations and recommendations that drive decisions. Global Industry and Peer Benchmarking Position your reputation against global competitors, industry norms, and regulatory expectations with precision. Integrated Global Advisory Partnership Every Compass client gains a direct strategic advantage through RepTrak's Global Advisory team — a partner in transforming insight into action across all regions. AI-Powered Navigation Real-time, globally informed guidance that helps mitigate risks and build brand equity before issues escalate. Availability Compass will officially launch this July with a phased global rollout to RepTrak clients. Early feedback from select enterprise users reinforces Compass as a game-changing advancement, enabling organizations to not just monitor reputation, but to proactively manage it. RepTrak invites communications, corporate affairs, brand, and reputation leaders around the world to explore Compass — and see how it empowers them to lead reputation, not just report on it. To get a sneak peek of Compass and learn more, visit About The RepTrak Company The RepTrak Company is the world's premier provider of reputation data and insights, helping businesses harness reputation intelligence to secure competitive advantage. RepTrak's predictive insights enable subscribers to safeguard business value, optimize ROI, and amplify their positive societal impact. Combining advanced metrics with dedicated reputation advisors, RepTrak delivers actionable analyses that align business goals with stakeholder sentiment across global markets and diverse industries. Established in 2004, The RepTrak Company owns the world's largest reputation benchmarking database, gathering over 1 million company ratings per year used by CEOs, boards, and executives in more than 60 countries worldwide. For more information, please visit View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE RepTrak View original content to download multimedia: Sign in to access your portfolio
Cision Canada
2 days ago
- Business
- Cision Canada
RepTrak Previews Compass -- A Global Strategic Reputation Intelligence Platform that is More Than a Score
BOSTON, June 27, 2025 /CNW/ -- The RepTrak Company™, the global leader in reputation intelligence for over 20 years, unveils RepTrak Compass™, its most advanced and globally scalable platform to date. Launching this July, Compass empowers Chief Communications Officers and C-suite leaders to not just monitor stakeholder reputation, but to actively shape it with speed, precision, and confidence. More than a score, Compass is the only truly integrated global solution for reputation intelligence — combining RepTrak's world-class Global Advisory expertise with AI-enabled navigation. Designed for today's dynamic stakeholder environment, Compass enables leaders to shift from measuring reputation to actively shaping it. "Compass was engineered to deliver what today's executives need most — fast, reliable intelligence that drives action," says Chip Garate, Chief Product and Technology Officer at RepTrak. "Where do we stand with each stakeholder group? What reputational risks are emerging? Where should we act? Compass delivers not just data or a score — it delivers clarity, confidence, and direction." With two decades of reputation science and global benchmarking across 60+ countries, Compass is built on the most trusted foundation in the industry. RepTrak's expertise and experience in advising the world's largest global brands means there is nothing we haven't seen and everything we've learned is built into this platform. RepTrak would like to extend a special thank you to the members of its Customer Advisory Council, comprised of Fortune 500 companies, for their invaluable insights and partnership in shaping the development of Compass. Their input was instrumental in ensuring the platform meets the most critical and real-time needs of today's reputation leaders. Compass is not just a step forward, it's the future of reputation leadership. It unites insight and action across geographies, stakeholder groups, and leadership levels, helping today's teams lead with clarity and confidence. Compass Delivers Global Strategic Advantage Through: Multi-Stakeholder Tracking and Prioritization Continuous visibility into the perceptions of Employees, Policymakers, Media, Investors, Customers, and the Informed Public — locally and globally. Executive-Ready Reporting Tools Provide C-suite and Board leaders with clear, concise data visualizations and recommendations that drive decisions. Global Industry and Peer Benchmarking Position your reputation against global competitors, industry norms, and regulatory expectations with precision. Integrated Global Advisory Partnership Every Compass client gains a direct strategic advantage through RepTrak's Global Advisory team — a partner in transforming insight into action across all regions. AI-Powered Navigation Real-time, globally informed guidance that helps mitigate risks and build brand equity before issues escalate. Availability Compass will officially launch this July with a phased global rollout to RepTrak clients. Early feedback from select enterprise users reinforces Compass as a game-changing advancement, enabling organizations to not just monitor reputation, but to proactively manage it. RepTrak invites communications, corporate affairs, brand, and reputation leaders around the world to explore Compass — and see how it empowers them to lead reputation, not just report on it. To get a sneak peek of Compass and learn more, visit About The RepTrak Company The RepTrak Company is the world's premier provider of reputation data and insights, helping businesses harness reputation intelligence to secure competitive advantage. RepTrak's predictive insights enable subscribers to safeguard business value, optimize ROI, and amplify their positive societal impact. Combining advanced metrics with dedicated reputation advisors, RepTrak delivers actionable analyses that align business goals with stakeholder sentiment across global markets and diverse industries. Established in 2004, The RepTrak Company owns the world's largest reputation benchmarking database, gathering over 1 million company ratings per year used by CEOs, boards, and executives in more than 60 countries worldwide. For more information, please visit
