Government 'cannot blame UK recession on eurozone'
Fear surrounding the eurozone have left many business owners unsure of how it will impact on the economy and their livelihoods.
G20 ramps up the pressure on Europe over its debt crisis
World leaders are piling on the pressure to encourage Europe to take ambitious steps to resolve its debt crisis.
Cameron spells out the global financial threats
David Cameron will tell delegates that world leaders need to tackle the 'five greatest threats facing the global economy'.
Live updates
Labour: UK in G20 'relegation zone'
House of Commons library figures show the UK was in the G20 "relegation zone" in terms of economic growth since the Chancellor's autumn 2010 spending review, according to Labour.
These are embarrassing figures for George Osborne as he attends the meeting of G20 countries this weekend. "Britain has now flatlined for over two and a half years under this Conservative-led government.
In the global growth league table we're in the relegation zone with 17 out of 20 countries including America, France and Germany doing better than us.
This isn't good enough. The longer our economy stagnates the worse off people will be and the more long-term damage will be done.
– Shadow Chancellor Ed BallsWe need urgent action now to kick-start our flatlining economy and help people struggling with the rising cost of living. Our jobs plan includes building thousands of affordable homes and giving tax breaks to small firms taking on extra workers.
Osborne: Tax avoidance a 'catalyst for change'
Public outrage over corporate tax avoidance must be used as a "catalyst for change" in the UK and the developing world, Chancellor George Osborne said.
Mr Osborne was in Moscow yesterday for a meeting of finance ministers from the G20 group of major economies which pledged to find ways to crack down on dodges by multinationals.
Writing in the Observer, the Chancellor said:
This year, we have an opportunity to turn concern over tax avoidance into a catalyst for change, creating a competitive tax system that supports businesses, but where everyone pays their fair share. Through our role in the G20 and our leadership of the G8, we can ensure this change benefits Britain's taxpayers and also helps meet our commitments to the poorest in our society.
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Osborne joins global leaders to crack down on tax
The Chancellor George Osborne today joined global leaders in pledging to crack down on tax avoidance among the world's multi-million pound corporations. Back home Ed Miliband also had big earners in his sights as he tried to draw Nick Clegg into a row with his coalition allies over mansion taxes.
ITV News' political correspondent Carl Dinnen reports:
Osborne: Currency shouldn't be tool of economic warfare
George Osborne said today that international businesses located in the UK should pay British taxes.
The Chancellor, who was speaking at a G20 meeting in Moscow, also said that currencies should not be used as "as tools of competitive devaluation or economic warfare."
Chancellor seeking tax rules reform progress at this year's G8
Chancellor George Osborne wants to use Britain's presidency of the G8 summit this year to push international progress on the reform of international tax rules, which were first developed by the League of Nations in the mid-1920s and remain essentially unchanged.
Osborne: Britain is 'open for business' internationally
Chancellor George Osborne believes Britain has proven it is "open for business" by reducing its corporation tax rate over the course of the past two years.
Britain has cut its corporation tax rate by more than any other country in the G20 over the past two years, a message to the world that we are open for business that has seen companies return to Britain, and helping to create and secure thousands of jobs and millions in investment.
But our commitment to the most competitive corporate tax system goes hand in hand with our call for strong international standards to make sure that global companies, like anyone else, pay the taxes they owe.
That's why Britain, with Germany and France, asked the OECD to scrutinise the international rules, and we will together welcome their report to the G20 this weekend. The report shows this is an international issue that requires international action.
It shows the global economy has changed massively over the last decade, but global tax rules have stood still for almost a century, and Britain will lead the international effort to bring them into the twenty first century.
Finance ministers will this weekend look to reform global tax rules at the G20 in Moscow.
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Osborne's bid to reform global tax rules
Chancellor George Osborne has renewed his call for international action to tackle so-called "profit shifting" by multinational companies as he unveils the next steps in his fight to reform global tax rules this weekend.
Calls for an overhaul of tax laws, including the controversial transfer pricing rules that were written almost 100 years ago, will be highlighted to finance ministers at the G20 in Moscow by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which will present its report.
The work by the OECD comes as international companies such as Google, Facebook, Amazon and Starbucks have sparked controversy after it emerged that they all pay minimal tax on large UK revenues.
The Chancellor will announce that Britain will chair a new transfer pricing group which will look at how to reform the system which allows profits to be diverted to parent companies or to lower tax jurisdictions, via royalty and service payments.
Osborne calls for more global tax standards
George Osborne and Wolfgang Schauble, Germany's federal minister of finance, have called for more international cooperation in strengthening tax standards at this weekend's G20 meeting.
Osborne said:
– George Osborne, ChancellorWe want competitive taxes that say Britain is open for business and that attract global companies to invest in and bring jobs to our country, but we also want global companies to pay those taxes.
The best way to achieve that is through international action that ensures strong standards, without pricing ourselves out of the global market.
In a joint statement, the ministers said:
– Joint statement by the UK and GermanyGlobal companies are a significant source of growth, investment, employment and tax in Germany, Britain and the EU as a whole.
However, international tax standards have had difficulty keeping up with changes in global business practices, such as the development of e-commerce in commercial activities.
As a result, some multi-national businesses are able to shift the taxation of their profits away from the jurisdictions where they are being generated, thus minimising their tax payments compared to smaller, less international companies.
Officer cleared of killing Ian Tomlinson offered to resign twice
A police officer who was cleared of killing Ian Tomlinson during the G20 protests has accepted that his actions amounted to gross misconduct. In a public disciplinary hearing it emerged PC Simon Harwood also offered to resign on two occasions.
But PC Harwood does not accept his actions inadvertently caused or contributed to Ian Tomlinson's death.
G20 pathologist banned for dishonesty
Dr Freddy Patel, the pathologist who conducted the post-mortem examination on Ian Tomlinson, who died after being pushed to the ground by PC Simon Harwood in 2009, has been given a four-month ban for dishonesty, and misconduct.
The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service has suspended Dr Patel from practising after he omitted key findings from the body of a murder victim whom he said had died from natural causes.
He has been removed from the official register of approved forensic pathologists, and faces further sanctions.