AIRBnB HOSTS IN IRELAND FACE REVENUE CRACKDOWN - Revenue is cracking down on homeowners who let rooms through accommodation website Airbnb.
Last year an estimated 23,000 people in the Republic earned €115 million from letting all or part of their homes through Airbnb, which began supplying Revenue with information on Irish hosts' income in 2015.
Revenue has recently written to homeowners who have let rooms telling them that their tax affairs are under investigation. Its notices state that the investigation’s scope covers all taxes and duties, including income from providing short-term accommodation, in the years 2014, 2015 and 2016, says the Irish Times. While Revenue does not refer to Airbnb, tax advisers agree that it is investigating income earned from letting rooms through the website. They say they are seeing new clients who have received these notices within the last month. One firm, Taxback, recently warned that figures indicated that some hosts were not informing Revenue of their income, despite Airbnb’s own efforts to warn clients of their obligations. Anyone found not to have declared Airbnb income to the Revenue will be liable for tax, interest and penalties.
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GREENCORE TO APPOINT US CHIEF EXECUTIVE BY YEAR END - Greencore, the Dublin-based food group and the world's largest sandwich maker, is searching for a new chief executive for its US operations as speculation persists about potential takeover interest in the company.
Sources said Greencore will announce the appointment before the end of the year. News of the latest shake-up comes amid rumours the group has veered into the crosshairs of a private equity suitor. It is understood Greencore has not fielded any takeover discussions or interest from third parties since late 2011, when the New York buyout firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice came knocking, says the Irish Independent. But speculation that private equity firms continue to circle flared up again last week across trading desks in London and Dublin, despite the share price rebound since a shock profit warning in March wiped a third off the group's value. At that time, Greencore's chief executive Patrick Coveney announced he would spend half his time across the Atlantic as he sought to restore investor confidence and bolster business by adopting a more hands-on approach to the problem-plagued US division. Chuck Metzger, chief operating officer of the unit, now holds responsibility for its day-to-day management. It is not clear whether Mr Metzger is also in the running for the CEO appointment.
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INDIAN JEWELLER AT HEART OF $2 BILLION FRAUD CASE FLEES TO LONDON AND SEEKS ASYLUM - Nirav Modi, the Indian jeweller at the centre of an alleged $2 billion bank fraud in his home country, has fled to the UK where he is claiming political asylum, according to officials in both countries.
Indian police have been trying to track Mr Modi, whose jewellery has been worn by celebrities such as Kate Winslet and Priyanka Chopra, since February, when news broke of the alleged fraud at Punjab National Bank. The case has shaken confidence in India’s state-dominated banking sector. So far, they have been unable to find the renowned jeweller, but officials in India and the UK say he is in London, where his company has one store, and is trying to claim asylum from what he said was political persecution, says the Financial Times. Mr Modi could not be reached for comment. The presence of another Indian fugitive in Britain has the potential to cause further discord in an occasionally fractious relationship with India. New Delhi is also pushing for the forced return from London of the drinks baron Vijay Mallya, another Indian tycoon who has been accused of fraud - charges that he denies. It is also one more awkward case for the UK Home Office to handle, not long after Roman Abramovich, the Russian oligarch and owner of Chelsea football club, withdrew his application to renew his British visa after it was delayed.
