Latest news with #taxrebate
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Plans set to move forward with Cinergy Entertainment Center in Corpus Christi
The City Council unanimously approved a resolution to provide a tax rebate of up to $4.15 million over a 15-year period for the development of a Cinergy Family Entertainment Center in Corpus Christi's Southside. During a council meeting July 22, a presentation showed the new development is projected to generate almost $2 million in property taxes over 15 years after completion. Almost $7 million is estimated to be generated for Nueces County, Del Mar College, the Nueces County Hospital District and the Corpus Christi Independent School District collectively during the same period. In 2024, Corpus Christi collected $722 in property taxes on the 10 acres, and other taxing entities collected $2,616 total. The 10-acre center is set to be located near the intersection of Rodd Field Road and South Padre Island Drive. It is estimated to be completed on or before Sept. 30, 2028. Cinergy is a Dallas-based organization specializing in luxury cinemas and entertainment centers with locations in Texas, Oklahoma, North Carolina and Illinois. Planned amenities of the $40 million project include at least six movie screens, at least 10 bowling lanes, more than 100 arcade games, food and beverage service, a bar area, virtual reality simulators and more. Councilwoman Carolyn Vaughn said she is excited for the new center and made a jab at a July 14 article published by a local news outlet on a study claiming Corpus Christi was the third most boring city in the United States. Mayor Paulette Guajardo echoed her words and said the new center will show Corpus Christi is "on the map." "It just shows that those silly things about 'boring' this or that — that's nothing," Guajardo said. "We have so much to offer, and this just adds to it." RELATED COVERAGE More: Corpus Christi City Council public comment rules have changed again. Here's what is new. More: These two downtown Corpus Christi businesses could see big curbside changes John Oliva covers entertainment and community news in South Texas. Have a story idea? Contact him at Consider supporting local journalism with a subscription to the Caller-Times. This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Cinergy Entertainment Center to receive tax rebate from Corpus Christi Solve the daily Crossword
Reuters
03-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
China's Shandong raises fuel oil import tax rebates for some refineries, sources say
SINGAPORE, July 3 (Reuters) - The provincial government of Shandong, China's refining hub, has increased fuel oil import tax rebates for six independent refineries to improve their profitability as they struggle with low margins and fuel demand, industry sources said this week. The Shandong provincial tax bureau increased the consumption tax rebates that the independent refiners, also known as teapots, will receive for the sale of gasoline and diesel refined from imported fuel oil by 25 percentage points to between 75% and 95%, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said this week. The change applies to Chambroad Petrochemicals, Hongrun Petrochemical, Lihuayi Group, Xinyue Group, Shandong Jincheng Petrochemical Group and Xintai Petrochemical, the sources said. The refiners were notified about two weeks ago, said one of the sources. The Shandong Provincial Tax Service, the national State Taxation Administration and the companies did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment. The teapots often choose to process straight-run fuel oil or tar-like heavy residue called bitumen blend into transportation fuels when crude prices become too expensive and they are under crude oil import quotas that can limit their purchases. China enacted higher import tariffs on fuel oil at the start of 2025 and at the end of last year reduced the tax rebates on fuel oil shipments. That led to fuel oil imports declining to their lowest ever for the January-May period, according to customs data. FGE's Associate Director of the East of Suez Oil Service Mia Geng said in a June 27 note the independent refiners had been suffering from low margins and shutdowns as a result of the rules and the provincial government likely also wanted the refineries to run more to boost industrial output and economic activity. Geng expects the tax changes should increase high-sulphur fuel oil demand and raise the refineries' run rates. However, the changes are unlikely to spur fuel oil demand in the short-term since crude oil is currently cheaper, a trading source and one of the sources with direct knowledge of the change said. The refiners in Shandong are China's main buyers of cheap sanctioned oil from Russia and Iran.
RNZ News
30-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
FamilyBoost changes expected to increase access to scheme
Finance Minister Nicola Willis says Cabinet has signed off the changes, including increasing the amount of rebate and curbing the reductions for higher earners. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Changes to the government's FamilyBoost scheme are expected to broaden access and increase repayment amounts, backdated 1 July. Finance Minister Nicola Willis promised to review the scheme which provides rebates for early childhood education, after government figures showed just 249 families had consistently claimed the full amount - well short of the 21,000 families initially estimated. With the policy being a key plank of the up to $252 a fortnight tax package National campaigned on, the left-leaning Council of Trade Unions said under a conservative estimate [ fewer than 50 families would claim the full benefit. Willis had said all the money set aside for the scheme would be redistributed to families who needed it, rather than retained by the government - although figures in May showed nearly a quarter of was being spent on administration costs . FamilyBoost allows parents and caregivers to claim back a quarter of what they paid in childcare costs as a tax rebate, up to $75 a week. To qualify for the full amount, families must be paying more than $300 a week in childcare costs, but also earning under $140,000 a year. Families earning up to $180,000 a year can get smaller amounts, while those earning above that cannot claim the rebate. Willis had promised the changes would be made by July. With that deadline due the next day, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Monday promised it would be announced "very shortly". "The uptake of it hasn't been taken up in the way that we thought it would do, and so we want to make sure that those funds actually do get out to low and middle income working New Zealanders, so we are revisiting that policy and Nicola will have more to say about it very shortly." Willis later told Newstalk ZB the Cabinet had signed off the changes earlier that day, including increasing the amount of rebate and curbing the reductions for higher earners. "That will allow people from 1 October when they make their claims to claim a bit more, and that will apply for fees incurred from 1 July," she said. "I'll be making a detailed announcement about that imminently." Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the scheme was a flop, and the finance minister's promised fix for it was overdue. "Nicola Willis promised New Zealanders that by the first of July she would have answers for them on how she's going to fix her debacle of a FamilyBoost scheme... I think we can now add FamilyBoost to Nicola Willis' long list of debacles, including cancelling the interisland ferries, giving tax cuts to tobacco companies and cutting women's pay. "This is a government that talks a big game but doesn't deliver on its promises. This government has abandoned middle New Zealanders - while they're doing victory laps saying they've fixed the cost of living crisis, for most Kiwi families it's still pretty damn tough going and this government's got its head buried firmly in the sand." Willis had blamed the lack of uptake compared to initial estimates on Inland Revenue's calculations, although the scheme - initially proposed as an automatic payment - also requires parents to collect invoices from their ECE provider and submit those for payment every three months. However, the estimate of 21,000 getting the full amount and 100,000 families getting some benefit from the policy was formulated based on those settings. Hipkins said Willis needed to stop blaming officials. "She designed it in opposition. The IRD, the Treasury - none of them had anything to do with the designing of the FamilyBoost, it was all Nicola Willis' work. Now she's trying to blame officials for the fact that it's a flop, actually she needs to get the officials to give her some advice on how to fix it." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Scandal-hit firm 'called police' after complaint
A company at the centre of a tax rebate scandal called the police after a client complained, court papers have revealed. About 800 people were left with large bills after making claims through Apostle Accounting, based in Stowmarket, Suffolk, and receiving money to which they they were not entitled. One former client who lost an appeal at a tribunal against HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) over its efforts to recover more than £3,500, said Apostle had responded that "police have been informed of threats and harassment". The BBC has sent requests for comment to the former directors of Apostle. The former client, Dennis Lucas, a UPS driver from Camberwell in south London, contacted Apostle after being told about the company by work colleagues. They had received thousands of pounds in "tax rebates" relating to the cleaning of uniforms and subsistence expenses, he said. The tribunal judgement recorded how Apostle "did not ask for, nor did Mr Lucas provide, any details of income or expenses or receipts". He was unaware of what had been claimed on his behalf - but Mr Lucas lost his case as the tribunal found HMRC had acted correctly when it sought to recover the money. "We have a great deal of sympathy for Mr Lucas who was misled by Apostle into authorizing claims which he believed to be legitimate, but which Apostle knew were not. However, we must apply the law as it stands," the judgement stated. Mr Lucas estimates that about 200 UPS colleagues had been in contact with Apostle. "There's a lot of embarrassment," he said. "I should imagine it has caused conflicts in relationships." He added that he would struggle to repay the money back to HMRC. "The impact will ultimately be debt. A loan will have to be taken out to cover the payments or a credit card," Mr Lucas said. He confirmed that there was no police contact after Apostle's letter claiming they had reported him. Mr Lucas said he was "bitter" and that he was "really upset with the tribunal's decision". The judgement included an email sent by Apostle to Mr Lucas, after he had complained to the company. It said: "The police have been informed of your threats and harassment and so has our solicitor." Mr Lucas told the BBC the police had not spoken to him. The letter was "factually inaccurate and threatening" according to the tribunal. The directors of Apostle Accounting, Zoe and Martin Goodchild, have so far not responded when contacted about this. Previously Ms Goodchild - who now appears to use the name Zoe Payne - had denied any wrongdoing. Former Apostle clients collectively ended up owing millions of pounds back to HMRC according to calculations seen by the BBC. The company has since been wound up and is currently in liquidation. This latest judgement from the Upper Tier Tax Tribunal said it had "little doubt that Apostle acted deliberately in submitting tax returns containing the excessive and unallowable expense claims". Tax lawyer Dan Neidle, who has highlighted the tribunal judgement to his social media followers, told the BBC: "The judge saw an email trail which made clear that Apostle submitted false claims without their client's authority. "Sadly today anyone can call themselves a tax agent and file a tax return - and you're responsible if they get it wrong, even badly wrong." "So I would advise only using an agent that's regulated by one of the accounting or tax bodies - the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT), The Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT) or the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)". A police inquiry into the scandal has now entered its third year. In 2024, officers from the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU) carried out searches of a commercial unit and two residential homes in Stowmarket as well as an office in Peterborough. In a new statement, a spokesman for ERSOU said: "Our enquiries remain ongoing in relation to allegations of fraud involving a business in Stowmarket, Suffolk, and investigators are working closely with partner agencies to establish what offences may have been committed. "Anyone who believes they have been defrauded is encouraged to report it by contacting Action Fraud online at or by calling 0300 123 2040." HMRC said it does not comment on individuals or companies. Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Why were hundreds left in debt over tax claims? MPs intervene over tax rebate scandal Hundreds face tax demands in rebate scandal
BBC News
25-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Scandal-hit Apostle Accounting 'called police' after complaint
A company at the centre of a tax rebate scandal called the police after a client complained, court papers have 800 people were left with large bills after making claims through Apostle Accounting, based in Stowmarket, Suffolk, and receiving money to which they they were not former client who lost an appeal at a tribunal against HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) over its efforts to recover more than £3,500, said Apostle had responded that "police have been informed of threats and harassment".The BBC has sent requests for comment to the former directors of Apostle. The former client, Dennis Lucas, a UPS driver from Camberwell in south London, contacted Apostle after being told about the company by work had received thousands of pounds in "tax rebates" relating to the cleaning of uniforms and subsistence expenses, he tribunal judgement recorded how Apostle "did not ask for, nor did Mr Lucas provide, any details of income or expenses or receipts". He was unaware of what had been claimed on his behalf - but Mr Lucas lost his case as the tribunal found HMRC had acted correctly when it sought to recover the money."We have a great deal of sympathy for Mr Lucas who was misled by Apostle into authorizing claims which he believed to be legitimate, but which Apostle knew were not. However, we must apply the law as it stands," the judgement stated. Mr Lucas estimates that about 200 UPS colleagues had been in contact with Apostle."There's a lot of embarrassment," he said. "I should imagine it has caused conflicts in relationships."He added that he would struggle to repay the money back to HMRC."The impact will ultimately be debt. A loan will have to be taken out to cover the payments or a credit card," Mr Lucas said. He confirmed that there was no police contact after Apostle's letter claiming they had reported Lucas said he was "bitter" and that he was "really upset with the tribunal's decision". The judgement included an email sent by Apostle to Mr Lucas, after he had complained to the said: "The police have been informed of your threats and harassment and so has our solicitor."Mr Lucas told the BBC the police had not spoken to letter was "factually inaccurate and threatening" according to the directors of Apostle Accounting, Zoe and Martin Goodchild, have so far not responded when contacted about Ms Goodchild - who now appears to use the name Zoe Payne - had denied any wrongdoing. 'Acted deliberately' Former Apostle clients collectively ended up owing millions of pounds back to HMRC according to calculations seen by the company has since been wound up and is currently in latest judgement from the Upper Tier Tax Tribunal said it had "little doubt that Apostle acted deliberately in submitting tax returns containing the excessive and unallowable expense claims". Tax lawyer Dan Neidle, who has highlighted the tribunal judgement to his social media followers, told the BBC: "The judge saw an email trail which made clear that Apostle submitted false claims without their client's authority."Sadly today anyone can call themselves a tax agent and file a tax return - and you're responsible if they get it wrong, even badly wrong.""So I would advise only using an agent that's regulated by one of the accounting or tax bodies - the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT), The Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT) or the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)". A police inquiry into the scandal has now entered its third year. In 2024, officers from the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU) carried out searches of a commercial unit and two residential homes in Stowmarket as well as an office in a new statement, a spokesman for ERSOU said: "Our enquiries remain ongoing in relation to allegations of fraud involving a business in Stowmarket, Suffolk, and investigators are working closely with partner agencies to establish what offences may have been committed."Anyone who believes they have been defrauded is encouraged to report it by contacting Action Fraud online at or by calling 0300 123 2040."HMRC said it does not comment on individuals or companies. Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
