Written By Unknown on Kamis, 16 April 2015 | 11.46
The EU has formally charged Google with abusing its search market position in Europe, leaving it open to a fine of more than $6bn (£4bn).
The European Commission has been examining whether Google, which holds about 90% of the search market in Europe, has been illegally rigging its search results to favour its own services.
Tech rivals such as Microsoft, who urged the EU to bring the case, want more competition in areas like online maps, search and shopping.
EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said Google has given "an unfair advantage to its own comparison shopping service".
Google could face a fine of up to $6bn (£4bn)
Rivals object to the firm placing adverts for its Google Shopping service ahead of other links in relevant searches.
The EU has issued a statement of objections which Google has 10 weeks to respond to before action can be taken.
Ms Vestager said that a separate antitrust investigation has been ordered into Google's mobile operating system Android.
She said: "In the case of Google I am concerned that the company has given an unfair advantage to its own comparison shopping service, in breach of EU antitrust rules.
"Google now has the opportunity to convince the Commission to the contrary. However, if the investigation confirmed our concerns, Google would have to face the legal consequences and change the way it does business in Europe."
An internal Google memo informed staff that the company believes it has a "strong case". In a blog post the tech giant used a series of graphs to show that competition continues to thrive.
The company has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. It could face an eventual fine of up to 10% of its worldwide turnover, which reached $66bn (£44.7bn) in 2014.
The filing of charges may increase pressure on Google to settle, to avoid a potentially damaging case and massive fine resulting from the allegations.
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Video:Protester In Stunt Against ECB Boss
The president of the European Central Bank has been interrupted at a news conference by a protester shouting "end ECB dictatorship".
Mario Draghi was outlining the bank's latest monetary policy thinking when a lone woman jumped onto the desk above Mr Draghi and showered him with items including what looked like confetti and sheets of paper.
The bank suspended the video feed of the news conference as security officials grabbed her but she flashed a V for victory sign and smiled as two men in grey suits took her away holding her arms and legs.
Mr Draghi, who had held up his hands as protection, looked shocked but was apparently unhurt and continued his presentation shortly afterwards.
The Reuters news agency reported that activist group Femen was claiming responsibility for the incident on Twitter - although some sources suggested the protester was believed to have left the feminist movement.
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Gallery: Protester Disrupts ECB Conference
A protester jumps on the table in front of the European Central Bank President Mario Draghi during a news conference in Frankfurt, Continue through for more images
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Speculation on the woman's motive could also focus on the renewed financial troubles in Greece, which has yet to secure additional bailout funds from its creditors, including the ECB.
Some activists accuse the bank of trying to enforce budget austerity measures on eurozone countries, such as Greece, that are under financial bailout programmes.
There is likely to be an investigation into how she managed to get into the news conference.
The bank's Governing Council had earlier left the ECB's benchmark interest rates on hold following signs its policy tools, including quantitative easing, were having a positive effect on demand in the eurozone economy.
But Mr Draghi sought to play down market speculation the ECB would scale back its QE plans as a response, saying he was "surprised" by such talk.
He insisted the bank expected to fully implement its €1tn government bond-buying programme until September 2016, as previously announced.
"Our focus will be on the full implementation of our policy measures," he said but added that the programme was "flexible enough" to be adjusted if necessary.
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Video:Protester In Stunt Against ECB Boss
The president of the European Central Bank has been interrupted at a news conference by a protester shouting "end ECB dictatorship".
Mario Draghi was outlining the bank's latest monetary policy thinking when a lone woman jumped onto the desk above Mr Draghi and showered him with items including what looked like confetti and sheets of paper.
The bank suspended the video feed of the news conference as security officials grabbed her but she flashed a V for victory sign and smiled as two men in grey suits took her away holding her arms and legs.
Mr Draghi, who had held up his hands as protection, looked shocked but was apparently unhurt and continued his presentation shortly afterwards.
The Reuters news agency reported that activist group Femen was claiming responsibility for the incident on Twitter - although some sources suggested the protester was believed to have left the feminist movement.
1/6
Gallery: Protester Disrupts ECB Conference
A protester jumps on the table in front of the European Central Bank President Mario Draghi during a news conference in Frankfurt, Continue through for more images
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Speculation on the woman's motive could also focus on the renewed financial troubles in Greece, which has yet to secure additional bailout funds from its creditors, including the ECB.
Some activists accuse the bank of trying to enforce budget austerity measures on eurozone countries, such as Greece, that are under financial bailout programmes.
There is likely to be an investigation into how she managed to get into the news conference.
The bank's Governing Council had earlier left the ECB's benchmark interest rates on hold following signs its policy tools, including quantitative easing, were having a positive effect on demand in the eurozone economy.
But Mr Draghi sought to play down market speculation the ECB would scale back its QE plans as a response, saying he was "surprised" by such talk.
He insisted the bank expected to fully implement its €1tn government bond-buying programme until September 2016, as previously announced.
"Our focus will be on the full implementation of our policy measures," he said but added that the programme was "flexible enough" to be adjusted if necessary.
David Cameron has announced a future Tory government would give 1.3 million housing association tenants the chance to buy their homes.
:: So what is Right to Buy?
The existing scheme allows council tenants to buy their home at a discount of up to 70% - a maximum of £102,700 in London and £77,000 across the rest of of the country.
:: Full Coverage Of General Election 2015
The Conservatives have made extending this to 1.3 million housing association tenants a centrepiece of their manifesto for the May election.
Video:Voters On Tory Right-To-Buy Plans
:: This all seems familiar?
It is indeed. The scheme was trailblazed by Margaret Thatcher on coming to power in 1979 with the Tories hailing it "the biggest step towards a home-owning democracy ever taken" in their 1983 manifesto.
And in extending the scheme to housing tenants, David Cameron is hoping to recapture that aspirational spirit in the face of criticism of the negative tone of the Tory campaign to date.
Unveiling the plan, the PM echoed the words of the Thatcher-era by talking of "building a property-owning democracy for generations".
:: So that's the background, how will it work?
Video:Conservatives Launch Manifesto
It will be funded by requiring councils to sell off the most expensive properties when they become empty, and replacing them with more affordable social homes.
:: LIVE BLOG: General Election 2015
Around 15,000 houses and flats are expected to become available in this way each year, but the Conservatives stress no one will be forced out of their home.
It has been claimed the sales would raise an estimated £4.5bn which could then be used to build between 80,000 to 170,000 new properties a year.
:: Do I hear a "but" coming here?
Video:May On Home-Owning 'Dream'
You do indeed. The move, unsurprisingly, is not without its critics and has been branded "deeply unfair" by housing associations.
The National Housing Federation warns it would mean using £5.8bn of taxpayers' cash to "gift" up to £100,000 to people already living in good secure homes, on some of the country's cheapest rents.
Meanwhile, the group argues it would do nothing to help the millions in private rented properties desperate to buy, or those forced to live at home with their parents because they cannot afford to rent or buy.
It points out the £5.8bn would be enough to finance 300,000 new shared ownership homes "open to everyone, not just the lucky few".
Political opponents have also waded in with Labour dismissing it as "yet another uncosted, unfunded and unbelievable announcement".
Video:Is Right To Buy The Right Thing?
And the Tories' Lib Dem coalition partners claim the scheme would would result in longer waiting lists for homes and fewer social houses.
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David Cameron has claimed the Conservatives are the "party of the working people" as he made pledges on homeownership, £5,000 of free childcare and an income tax-free minimum wage.
Launching the Tory manifesto, Mr Cameron repeatedly made offers to voters who worked hard and wanted to get on the "good life".
The manifesto set out measures for families from cradle to grave - identifying measures to help people over six stages of their lives.
Mr Cameron opened his speech by saying: "At the heart of this manifesto is a simple proposition. We are the party of working people, offering you security at every stage of your life."
He promised 30 hours of childcare for three and four-year-olds - five hours more than promised in Labour's manifesto yesterday - to help working parents.
Video:Gove Defends Right To Buy Plan
He said if the party is returned to power, it will give 1.3 million families the chance to buy their housing association home at least a 20% discount.
Speaking at a university technical college in Swindon, Mr Cameron laid out his vision for a "property-owning democracy" echoing the phrases used in Margaret Thatcher's 1983 manifesto.
And he said the Conservatives would introduce a tax-free minimum wage, linking the minimum wage to the income tax personal allowance so the lowest paid would never have to pay tax.
He urged voters not to "waste the last five years" and let "Labour drag us back" to the past, and asked to be allowed to "finish the job".
Video:Cameron: Manifesto For A Good Life
Mr Cameron promised: "This buccaneering, world-beating, can-do country - we can do it all over again."
:: Full Coverage Of General Election 2015
:: All You Need To Know About Party Manifestos
:: Sky's Anushka Asthana On Five Things We've Learned From The Tory Manifesto
Video:Miliband: Tory Manifesto Unfunded
Among other measures included in the manifesto, which has the phrase "strong leadership, a clear economic plan, a better more secure future" on the cover, are:
:: Raising the personal allowance for tax to £12,500
:: Increasing the starting salary for the 40p rate to £50,000
:: No increase in income tax, VAT, National Insurance
Video:Clegg: Tory Policy 'Doesn't Add Up'
:: Raising the inheritance tax threshold for family homes to £1m
:: Seven-day access to GP service
:: An annual £8bn boost for NHS funding
:: Repeal the Hunting Act
Video:Right To Buy Scheme Extended
:: Increase state pension by at least 2.5% with a triple lock
:: 200,000 starter homes built
:: Committed to four-boat Trident nuclear deterrent
Mr Cameron's repeated pledges on a "good life" available to people in the UK prompted a question on whether he saw himself as the impoverished Tom and Barbara characters from the BBC sitcom, played by Felicity Kendal and Richard Briers, or the rich Margot and Jerry characters played by Penelope Keith and Paul Eddington.
Video:Conservative Commitments Analysed
To fund Right to Buy, the Conservatives would force councils to sell their most expensive properties when vacant - estimated to raise £4.5bn a year - and replace the properties sold.
However, the Housing Federation claims the cost to the taxpayer would be £5.8bn and 40 years of failure on house-building means the UK still does not have the homes needed.
Since Baroness Thatcher introduced Right to Buy in 1980, 1.88 million council properties have been sold - only 345,000 new social housing properties have been built.
As well as extending Right to Buy at a discount to housing association tenants, the party has promised a £1bn fund for building 400,000 new properties on brownfield sites.
Video:Tory Manifesto In 60 Seconds
Mr Cameron's claim that the Conservatives are the party for workers comes after Labour said it wanted to be seen as the fiscally responsible option for government.
:: Right To Buy: Your Questions Answered
:: Labour's Manifesto At A Glance
:: Conservative Manifesto At A Glance
Video:Tory Manifesto: Business Friendly?
Conservative activists gathered for the manifesto launch were shown a video called The Note.
The video refers to the missive left for the coalition by the outgoing Labour treasury minister Liam Byrne after the 2010 election. It said: "There is no money."
But Labour has claimed the Conservatives have failed to explain properly how their measures will be funded.
The Tories say some £1.4bn a year of the funding will come from reducing the tax relief on pensions for those earning more than £150,000. Mr Cameron said their track record showed they could deliver on their pledges.
Video:The Greens' Main Policies
Labour leader Ed Miliband said the Conservatives were "trying to fund Right to Buy on a bounced cheque".
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Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said the Right to Buy policy was unaffordable and did not help millions of people trying to get on to the property ladder.
Written By Unknown on Selasa, 14 April 2015 | 11.46
By Mark Kleinman, City Editor
Labour has retreated on a threat to carve up Britain's biggest banks less than 15 months after Ed Miliband said lenders would be forced to sell "significant numbers of branches".
Sky News can reveal that Labour has quietly drawn up plans to accept TSB, which has already been operating as an independent entity for more than a year, as one of two new banks that the party has said it wants to challenge the main high street players.
In its General Election manifesto published on Monday, Labour said it would "increase competition on the high street".
"Following the Competition and Market Authorities [sic] inquiry we want a market share test and at least two new challenger banks," it said.
Sources inside Labour and the banking sector said that shadow cabinet ministers had recently indicated that they were prepared to accept TSB and Williams & Glyn - which is in the process of being carved out of Royal Bank of Scotland - as the two designated challengers if they demonstrated the potential to reach a 5% share of key banking markets.
:: Full Coverage Of General Election 2015
:: All You Need To Know About Party Manifestos
TSB currently has a market share of just under 4.5% but is gaining new current account customers at a faster rate than many of its competitors, buoyed by the industry's embryonic seven-day switching service.
It is in the process of being acquired by Spain's Banco Sabadell in a £1.7bn deal.
In a speech in January 2014, Mr Miliband pledged to break up the biggest UK banks, saying that the process would begin immediately after a Labour government came to power.
"On day one of the next Labour government, we will ask the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to report within six months on how to create at least two new sizeable and competitive banks to challenge the existing high street banks," he said.
"I want to be clear about the difference this will mean: this is not about whether we should have new banks, the question this government is still asking, but about how.
"It is not about creating new banks that control some tiny proportion of the market, but new banks that have a substantial proportion and can compete properly with existing banks.
"And we are not asking whether existing banks might have to divest themselves of significant number of branches, we are asking how we make that happen."
Mr Miliband's speech underscored his determination to be seen as a champion of market reform in areas where consumers are widely perceived to have suffered from excess concentration.
In energy, that prompted a pledge to freeze retail prices for 20 months, which was repeated in the manifesto.
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However, Mr Miliband's critics are likely to accuse him of watering down the pledge to impose "a day of reckoning" on the banking industry.
Since the Labour leader's intervention last year, the CMA has opened a formal inquiry into the personal current account and SME banking markets, with its recommendations for reform expected later this year.
In a paper on banking reform published earlier this year, Labour repeated its pledge to see the creation of "at least two new challenger banks to address the lack of competition in the sector and a market share test to ensure the market stays competitive for the long term".
Although the paper said the CMA would be asked to advise on "how much the market share of the big banks should be reduced", there was no reference to an enforced branch or market share sell-off by the main high street lenders.
A Labour source insisted that its plans to improve competition in banking had been "consistent" throughout the period since Mr Miliband's January 2014 speech.
Labour's leader has attempted to convince voters he can be trusted with the economy, pledging to cut the deficit every year and saying: "I am ready" to lead the country.
Ed Miliband promised to get the Budget back into surplus "as soon as possible" and said that everything listed in the party's manifesto could be paid for.
He made promises on childcare, tuition fees and the NHS, saying they were fully funded and would not require any additional borrowing.
But political rivals said "nobody will be fooled" by ideas that would take the country back to economic chaos.
And health charity the King's Fund questioned Mr Miliband's funding, saying Labour was the only one of the three main parties not to pledge to find the extra £8bn a year an NHS review said was needed.
Also, experts warned Labour still has unanswered questions about how and where cuts and tax rises would come.
The manifesto, launched by the Labour leader on the set of Coronation Street and titled Britain Can Be Better, promised to "secure the family finances of the working people of Britain".
Word cloud: The larger the word the more times Mr Miliband said it
:: Full Coverage Of General Election 2015
:: All You Need To Know About Party Manifestos
Video:Chancellor George Osborne
:: Labour Retreats On Threat To Break Up Banks
Mr Miliband said the manifesto was not a "shopping list of proposals" as he sought to persuade a sceptical public he could be trusted with the nation's finances by introducing a "triple lock" of responsibility.
He said a Labour Government would: cut the deficit every year, that every measure contained in the manifesto was fully funded and Labour would meet fiscal rules with the national debt falling.
Mr Miliband attempted to capitalise on the Conservatives' refusal to spell out how they would find the extra £8bn of funding for the NHS and said David Cameron's party had proposed £20bn of unfunded commitments.
He said: "Nothing is more dangerous to our NHS than pretending you'll be able to protect it without being able to say where the money's coming from. You can't fund the NHS with an IOU and the Conservative Party need to learn that."
But Mr Miliband made some eye-catching pledges in the 84-page Labour Party Manifesto 2015 including:
:: Wrap around childcare - primary schools to provide care from 8am-6pm
:: £2.5bn Time to Care fund for NHS off back of mansion tax and tobacco firm levy
:: Increase income tax for those earning more than £150,000
:: No increase in income tax, VAT, National Insurance for those on basic and higher rate income tax
:: Scrap winter fuel allowance for pensioners with an income of more than £42,000 a year
:: Freeze energy prices
:: Tighten tax avoidance rules to yield £7.5bn a year
:: Cut tuition fees to £6,000
:: More powers for the Welsh and Scottish Parliament
:: Extend the vote to 16-year-olds
Video:Need To Know: Labour Pledges
:: Faisal Islam's Take On Ed Miliband's Manifesto Launch
:: Live Blog: General Election 2015
Chancellor George Osborne said the manifesto had provided "no new ideas for Britain" and said the Conservative manifesto, which will be launched on Tuesday, would provide a better future for the country.
He said Labour's plans would see "higher taxes, more debt and a return to the economic chaos of the past".
Prime Minister David Cameron said: "What's striking is, Labour are committed to running a budget deficit forever. So this is not a conversion to responsibility, it is a con trick and more borrowing would mean more taxes.
"So, frankly, it's the same old Labour and the same old mess that they produced the last time they were in government."
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg caused controversy by comparing Labour's pledge on borrowing to a bottle-a-day alcoholic "saying they have no plans to drink more vodka". He added the manifesto was "not worth the paper it's written on".
Chris Ham, chief executive of The King's Fund said: "It is hard to see how Labour's plans to dismantle the Health and Social Care Act could be achieved without disruptive structural changes to the NHS.
"The big question is about funding, with Labour now the only one of the three main parties not to have pledged to find the £8bn a year in additional funding called for in the NHS five year forward view.
Video:Do Election Manifestos Matter?
"Given this is the minimum requirement if the NHS is to continue to meet patient needs and maintain standards of care, this leaves a significant gap at the heart of its plans."
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said Labour's plans would leave the deficit at £30bn - it currently stands at £90bn - by 2020.
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Speaking after Mr Miliband's speech, IFS director Paul Johnson told The Daily Politics Labour's manifesto had provided "no additional clarity" on how quickly it wanted to reduce the deficit.
He said: "The Labour party have repeated what they have said over the last several months, which is that they want to get to get to current budget balanced as soon as they can in the next parliament.
"Now, it really, really matters how soon that is. If they want to get there within three years, which is sort of what they might be thought to have signed up to in the fiscal responsibility charter earlier this year, that's a really significant amount of spending cuts or tax rises over the next three years.
"If they are happy to wait until the end of the parliament, which is also sort of consistent with what they signed up to, then actually we don't need any spending cuts over the next five years."
With 24 days to go until the General Election, Mr Miliband said at the manifesto launch: "The reason we can make these commitments is because we will make sure those with the broadest shoulders bear the greatest burden.
"So we'll reverse David Cameron's tax cut for millionaires to help pay down the deficit.
Video:Day 15 In 60 Seconds
"We'll crack down on hedge funds who avoid paying their fair share. We'll stop HMRC operating double standards.
"And we'll do something that no government has done for over 200 years - we'll say enough is enough to the people who live here, work here, send their kids to school here but don't want to pay taxes here and we will abolish the non-dom rule."
Polls show that voters trust Labour less with the economy than the Conservatives and Mr Miliband has struggled to play down forgetting to mention the deficit in his conference speech.
Labour says it will have the current Budget in surplus by the end of the next parliament, however, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats have said they will do so by 2017/18.
In an answer to recent criticism that Labour is against big business and wealth-creators, Mr Miliband said Labour was "pro business but not pro business as usual".
He said Labour would champion small and medium-sized businesses with a cut in business rates to help them create the jobs, wealth and profits of the future.
Written By Unknown on Senin, 13 April 2015 | 11.46
The Conservatives have said they will take family homes out of inheritance tax by introducing a new allowance which effectively increases the threshold for tax to £1m.
David Cameron said that if his party wins the 7 May election, parents will be offered a new £175,000 allowance to enable them to pass property on to children tax-free after they die.
For properties worth more than £2m, the allowance will be gradually tapered away so that those worth more than £2.35m do not benefit.
Full coverage:General Election 2015
Inheritance tax is currently payable at a rate of 40% on the value of an estate above the £325,000 threshold - or £650,000 if a couple takes advantage of the existing allowance.
Video:Day 14 In 60 Seconds
It is thought around 22,000 families will benefit from the move by 2020 and Mr Cameron said the costs would be paid for by a £1bn raid on pension tax relief for people earning more than £150,000.
Mr Cameron said: "We will take the family home out of inheritance tax.
"That home that you have worked and saved for belongs to you and your family.
"You should be able to pass it on to your children. And with the Conservatives, the taxman will not get his hands on it."
The Conservatives promised a £1m inheritance tax threshold in the 2010 election, but were blocked by Liberal Democrats from implementing it when in coalition.
Video:PM Outlines Tax Position
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper told Sky's Murnaghan programme it is the "wrong priority" and "won't affect 90% of estates".
She said: "They are talking about a £140,000 tax cut for properties that are worth around £2m at a time when you've got families still losing their homes because of the bedroom tax, at a time when pensioners and families have had to pay more VAT."
The Institute For Fiscal Studies said the change would "disproportionately" benefit those on higher incomes.
In an observation published on its website after the announcement, the IFS said: "Since the children of those with very large estates are disproportionately towards the top of the income distribution the gains from this (and in fact any) IHT cut will also go disproportionately to those towards the top of the income distribution."
Meanwhile, Labour has revealed its plans to crackdown on tax-dodgers if it wins the election, hoping to cut avoidance and evasion by at least £7.5bn a year by the middle of the next Parliament.
Video:Election: Seven Days, Seven Facts
Shadow chancellor Ed Balls said it would take a Labour government to "call time" on the Tories' "lax approach", adding that Labour would set targets for HMRC to reduce tax avoidance by at least £7.5bn a year.
He said: "We will close the loopholes the Tories won't act on, increase transparency, toughen up penalties and abolish the non-dom rules.
"And our first Budget will make sure that, following an immediate review of HMRC, it has all the powers and resources it needs to come down hard on tax avoidance and evasion."
Conservative Treasury minister David Gauke said: "Ed Miliband and Ed Balls turned a blind eye to aggressive tax avoiding and evading for 13 years when they were in charge - they were the tax avoiders' friends."
The Lib Dems have also set out their tax plans, promising "light at the end of the tunnel" with moves to eliminate Britain's deficit by 2017/18.
Video:The Faisal Files: Day 13
Nick Clegg said his plan has "a heart as well as a brain", trying to drive home his claim that his party will cut less than the Conservatives and borrow less than Labour.
Spelling out plans for a consolidation totaling £27bn by 2017/18, made up of £12bn in additional tax, £12bn in public spending reductions and £3bn in welfare cuts, Mr Clegg challenged the other parties to spell out in similar detail how they would balance the nation's books.
He said: "We are going to spread the burden of finishing the job of fixing the economy fairly across society.
"Yes that means more cuts, but it also means asking the wealthiest to pay their fare share too."
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Genworth Financial, a troubled US insurance company, is in talks with one of the financial services industry's most prolific investors about the sale of a business that includes a range of products sold to UK customers.
Sky News understands that JC Flowers, a private equity firm, is one of several bidders in talks with Genworth about acquiring its lifestyle protection unit, which comprises operations in more than 25 countries, including Britain.
The division had been identified as non-core by Genworth's management as long ago as 2012, but it was only put up for sale late last year, when investment bankers at Barclays were hired to oversee an auction.
Bankers estimate that the division could fetch in the region of $500m (£341m).
In addition to JC Flowers, which owns stakes in UK companies including OneSavings Bank and Cabot Financial, a debt collector, Apollo and Warburg Pincus are said to have expressed an interest in the Genworth business.
Genworth Lifestyle Protection writes both direct and reinsurance business including to large global companies that want access to the wholesale market.
Its products include credit-linked protection for customers when they are unable to meet repayments on specific financial commitments in the event of illness, accident, unemployment, disability or death.
The division's auction comes as Genworth explores a wider break-up, including through a sale of its Life and Annuity Insurance Company.
In February, it announced a strategic after recording a $1.6bn (£1.1bn) loss in the second half of last year because it did not have suufficient money set aside to cover payouts on long-term care policies.
Speaking at the time, Tom McInerney, Genworth's president and chief executive, said: "I am disappointed by the continued challenges in our older LTC [long-term care] blocks and how it is overshadowing otherwise strong performance and momentum in other businesses, however we have taken steps on many fronts to deal with these challenges in order to strengthen and rebuild the future."
Written By Unknown on Minggu, 12 April 2015 | 11.46
A warning has been issued to those booking holidays online, as it is revealed that British holidaymakers were conned out of £2.2m last year.
Criminal groups have targeted online booking firms to steal cash from unsuspecting customers and many only find out they have been conned when they arrive at their hotel and find no record of their booking.
A report from the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau found that in one case a holidaymaker lost £62,000 in a fraud relating to a dodgy timeshare scheme.
But losses are not just financial, with a third of victims saying the fraud has a substantial impact on their health as well as their finances and 167 victims said the impact of the crime was so severe they needed medical treatment.
The scams see a spike in the summer months and in December, which mean that many ruined trips will be for those trying to visit loved ones for Christmas.
The report shows that, during a 12-month period, 1,569 cases of holiday booking fraud were reported to the police action fraud team, with most relating to plane tickets, hacking accounts, posting fake adverts online and setting up bogus websites.
Sports and religious trips were an attractive target because of limited availability and higher prices and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and World Cup in Brazil were also targeted, with many people paying for fake tickets or accommodation.
Those aged between 30 and 49 were most often targeted and most victims were defrauded by methods such as bank transfers or cash with no means of getting their money back. Only a small number paid by credit or debit card where some form of redress is available.
Mark Tanzer, ABTA chief executive, said: "Holiday fraud is a particularly distressing form of fraud as the loss to the victim is not just financial but it can also have a high emotional impact.
"Many victims are unable to get away on a long-awaited holiday or visit to loved ones and the financial loss is accompanied by a personal loss.
"We would also encourage anyone who has been the victim of a travel-related fraud to report it so that the police can build up a case, catch the perpetrators and prevent other unsuspecting people from falling victim."
Detective chief superintendent Dave Clark, the City of London Police head of economic crime, said: "Online shoppers must be vigilant and conduct all the necessary checks before booking a break to ensure the conmen are kept at bay."
The Conservatives have said they will take family homes out of inheritance tax by introducing a new allowance which effectively increases the threshold for tax to £1m.
David Cameron said that if his party wins the 7 May election, parents will be offered a new £175,000 allowance to enable them to pass property on to children tax-free after they die.
For properties worth more than £2m, the allowance will be gradually tapered away so that those worth more than £2.35m do not benefit.
Inheritance tax is currently payable at a rate of 40% on the value of an estate above the £325,000 threshold - or £650,000 if a couple takes advantage of the existing allowance.
It is thought around 22,000 families will benefit from the move by 2020 and Mr Cameron said the costs would be paid for by a £1bn raid on pension tax relief for people earning more than £150,000.
Video:PM Outlines Tax Position
Mr Cameron will say today: "We will take the family home out of inheritance tax.
"That home that you have worked and saved for belongs to you and your family.
"You should be able to pass it on to your children. And with the Conservatives, the taxman will not get his hands on it."
Conservatives promised a £1m inheritance tax threshold in the 2010 election, but were blocked by Liberal Democrats from implementing it when in coalition.
Labour Treasury spokesman Chris Leslie said the move was a "panicky promise from the Tories".
Video:Miliband Wants To End Non-Doms
He added: "The Tories made a promise on inheritance tax before the last election and they broke it.
"At a time when our NHS is in crisis and most working people are paying more under the Tories, it cannot be a priority to spend £1bn on a policy which the Treasury says would not apply to 90% of estates.
"The Tories would choose to give a £140,000 tax cut for a house worth £2m while they have increased VAT on families and pensioners."
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Meanwhile, Labour has revealed its plans to crackdown on tax-dodgers if it wins the election, hoping to cut avoidance and evasion by at least £7.5bn a year by the middle of the next Parliament.
Video:Nick Clegg Attacks Tory Tax Plans
Shadow chancellor Ed Balls said it would take a Labour government to "call time" on the Tories' "lax approach", adding that Labour would set targets for HMRC to reduce tax avoidance by at least £7.5bn a year.
He said: "We will close the loopholes the Tories won't act on, increase transparency, toughen up penalties and abolish the non-dom rules.
"And our first Budget will make sure that, following an immediate review of HMRC, it has all the powers and resources it needs to come down hard on tax avoidance and evasion."
Conservative Treasury minister David Gauke said: "Ed Miliband and Ed Balls turned a blind eye to aggressive tax avoiding and evading for 13 years when they were in charge - they were the tax avoiders' friends."
The Lib Dems have also set out tax plans, promising "light at the end of the tunnel" with moves to eliminate Britain's deficit by 2017/18.
Video:The Faisal Files: Day 13
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Nick Clegg said his plan has "a heart as well as a brain", trying to drive home his claim that his party will cut less than the Conservatives and borrow less than Labour.
Spelling out plans for a consolidation totaling £27bn by 2017/18, made up of £12bn in additional tax, £12bn in public spending reductions and £3bn in welfare cuts, Mr Clegg will challenge the other parties to spell out in similar detail how they would balance the nation's books.
Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 11 April 2015 | 11.46
Rail fares will be frozen in real terms for five years if the Tories win the General Election, David Cameron has pledged.
The Prime Minister said extending the Retail Price Index inflation cap on regulated ticket prices until 2020 would save the average commuter £400.
The coalition has imposed the same restrictions for the past two years, and also removed the "'flex" train that allowed operators to increase some fares by more than inflation as long as others went up by less.
According to the Conservatives, the policy means commuters are already paying £75 less than they would have been.
The announcement is part of an effort to blunt the Labour attack over the cost of living, and accusations that most people are not benefiting from the economic recovery.
Video:Prime Minister Explains Fare Rises
Mr Cameron, who is campaigning in the south west today, said: "The cost of commuting is one of the biggest household bills that hardworking families face and it is something we are determined to bear down on.
"It shouldn't just be taken for granted that people across the country who get up early and come home late, spend a large amount of the money they earn travelling to and from work.
"Because of the difficult decisions that we have taken to repair the economy, we have been able to hold down commuter fares for the past two years.
Video:Passengers Want 'Value for Money'
"If elected in May, we would freeze them in real terms for the next five."
But Mick Cash, leader of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, said: "This latest stunt would still mean annual fare increases that would institutionalise the harsh reality that the British passenger pays the highest fares in Europe to travel on rammed out and unreliable trains.
"The only solution is to end the rip off of rail privatisation which would allow us to free up the hundreds of millions of pounds drained off in profits to invest in services and cut fares."
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Two brothers hired to boost the efficiency of Marks & Spencer's (M&S) clothing business are in line for multimillion pound paydays which could make them the company's best-paid employees over a three-year period.
Sky News can reveal that Mark and Neal Lindsey, who were recruited just over a year ago, will receive a fixed proportion of the savings generated by the improvement in M&S's gross margin, in addition to basic salaries of £400,000 each.
The retailer said earlier this month that it remained on course to record a gross margin improvement of between 150 and 200 basis points, which analysts say would translate into an increase in profits worth tens of millions of pounds.
Sources said on Friday that the Lindseys had been hired on a three-year contract, with one adding that while their payout for 2014-15 would be substantial, it was likely to be far higher in the subsequent two years.
M&S refused to disclose the brothers' remuneration arrangements to Sky News because they are not on the company's main board.
However, company insiders said that their financial rewards would be aligned with the long-term interests of M&S shareholders, who have been boosted by third-quarter results showing the first improvement in general merchandise sales for more than three-and-a-half years.
One person close to the retailer insisted that the Lindseys would not be the highest-paid M&S employees for 2014-15, but conceded that their bonuses were directly tied to margin improvements in the general merchandise business.
A number of institutional shareholders have told Sky News that while they welcomed greater efficiency within the business, they were keen to understand the potential scale of the rewards that could accrue to them over the duration of their contract.
Unlike at banks and insurance companies, listed businesses in other sectors are not obliged to disclose - even anonymously - the remuneration of their most highly-paid employees.
The two sourcing chiefs were lured out of semi-retirement by M&S after an impressive track record as the architects of rival Next's widely-envied supply chain.
As the Hong Kong-based sourcing directors for general merchandise, the Lindseys have specific responsibility for clothing and footwear, overseeing M&S's network of regional sourcing offices around the world and its large London-based central sourcing team.
Although little-known in the UK, they played an important role in assisting Next's rise to prominence on the high street and its establishment as a darling of the City.
Speaking on 2 April, Marc Bolland, M&S's chief executive, said: "We have made strong progress over the quarter.
"We continued to deliver on General Merchandise gross margin, and are pleased that we have achieved this whilst also improving General Merchandise sales.
"M&S.com has returned to growth, as planned, with further improvement in customer metrics."
M&S shares were trading at just over 574p on Friday afternoon, giving the company a market value of £9.3bn.
Written By Unknown on Jumat, 10 April 2015 | 11.46
HSBC has expressed outrage at being placed on €1bn bail amid a criminal investigation in France into historical tax issues.
The UK-listed bank said it was informed on Wednesday that French magistrates were examining the "conduct of its Swiss private bank in 2006 and 2007 for alleged tax-related offences."
Its statement said the court's decision is "without legal basis and bail is unwarranted and excessive".
The bank added that it intended to appeal and "defend itself vigorously in any future proceedings".
Activities at the private bank are being examined in several other countries including Germany and Argentina in the wake of the publication of stolen files.
Video:HSBC Boss 'Sorry' For Tax Scandal
The papers claimed the Swiss operation had helped clients in more than 200 countries, including Britain, evade and avoid tax.
The accounts in question were said to contain £77bn ($119bn).
HSBC chief executive Stuart Gulliver apologised earlier this year for past practices at the Swiss arm.
He and chairman Douglas Flint told a committee of MPs in February they had completed a series of reforms to help restore trust and confidence.
Video:HSBC Whistleblower Speaks Out
Argentina last month stepped up its tax evasion row with HSBC by demanding it repatriates $3.5bn (£2.32bn) of cash allegedly moved from the country to its Swiss private bank.
The country's tax authorities issued the request weeks after the Central Bank of Argentina temporarily suspended HSBC Bank Argentina's operations of transferring money and assets abroad for a period of 30 days.
Argentina accuses HSBC of aiding more than 4,000 clients to evade taxes by shifting assets offshore.
HSBC Argentina denied the claim - insisting it respected Argentine law.
The estimated size of an oil find near Gatwick Airport has been upgraded to 100 billion barrels by a company backing exploration of the area.
UK Oil & Gas Investments (UKOG) said the Horse Hill-1 well in the Weald Basin was now thought to hold 158 million barrels per square mile.
In May 2014, the British Geological Survey estimated the Weald Basin to hold around 4.4 billion barrels of shale oil.
UKOG described the find as a possible "world class" resource with the potential for "significant daily oil production".
The site at Horse Hill in Sussex
The company's chairman David Lenigas claimed it would create "many thousands of jobs" but cautioned that it would take a long time to begin production.
He said: "You've got to work through government process and to work with the local community. Everybody expects you to snap your fingers and all of a sudden the magic panacea is there. The key thing is there is a potential resource of significance here - but the fast track or slow track nature is really going to be determined by Westminster".
But Solo Oil PLC, another stakeholder in the exploration, was cautious about the potential.
UK Oil and Gas insist there will be no fracking at Horse Hill
Solo Oil chief executive Neil Ritson told Sky News: "We're not actually putting out that number of a hundred billion barrels. I know that a leading academic - Professor Fraser at Imperial - is talking about 40 billion.
"Certainly those numbers are possible, but that's not where we are at the moment. It's early days."
The US-based firm which studied the reservoir estimated that recovery of the oil would be limited at between 3% and 15% of the total.
Local residents are concerned about damage to the countryside
It also insisted there was no need to use the controversial extraction process, known as fracking, to get access to the oil.
Mr Lenigas said: "Horse Hill is a conventional well, with conventional testing and we've got permission from the government authorities for a conventional programme. There will be no fracking at Horse Hill."
But local campaigners believe fracking will be necessary at some point in the future.
Anti-fracking campaigner Charles Metcalfe said: "South East England is the most densely populated corner of England. To start drilling holes all over the place will completely change the nature of our countryside forever. And if the result is that you're not getting very much oil out of it, then that's awful".
Environmental group Greenpeace urged people to focus on clean technologies.
Greenpeace's chief scientist Dr Doug Parr said : "To gleefully rub your hands at a new fossil fuel discovery you need to turn the clock back to the 19th century and ignore everything we have learnt about climate change since. We already have more than enough coal, oil, and gas reserves to fry the planet".
The UK currently produces 770,000 barrels of oil per day, compared to 11.1 million in the United States and 11.7 million in Saudi Arabia.
The announcement helped shares in UKOG rise more than 300% during trading on Thursday.
Britain's biggest banks have collectively racked up a £39bn bill as a result of financial scandals over just three years, a report has found.
A study by auditors KPMG covered financial results from Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Lloyds, Barclays, HSBC and Standard Chartered from 2011 to 2014.
It found that more than 60% of their total profits were wiped out by customer remediation, conduct failings and fines over the period, with costs totaling £38.7bn.
Conduct costs last year stood at £9.9bn, just 8% down on 2013, with almost half of the cash relating to the continuing cost of Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) and interest rate hedging mis-selling.
However, the report showed the banks were "in a healthier shape and returning to profitability" in 2014.
Video:BBA: Banks Being Driven Overseas
Their combined pre-tax profits reached £20.6bn, up £7.9bn or 62%.
The boost in profits was against a backdrop of total income falling by 12% to £127.2bn, as banks focused on less riskier activities in the wake of the financial crisis.
It meant, the study said, that shareholders were still getting a low return on equity.
Head of financial services at KPMG, Bill Michael, said: "Banks are undergoing a once-in-a-lifetime change, as they face evolving regulation, technology and society's expectations.
"At the same time, competition is increasing as new challenger banks and peer-to-peer platforms offer customers new ways to borrow and deposit and technology-led services such as PayPal and e-wallets change the way money is transferred and goods and services paid for.
"Domestically focused banking arms are focused on restructuring their business. Those with active investment banking arms face significant challenges around ring-fencing their retail and investment banking activities, which will become mandatory in 2019.
"The UK as a financial centre has largely been built on non-retail banking. If further regulation creates too many strictures on non-retail banking, the industry risks losing its global relevance."
The board of Royal Mail is drawing up secret plans to hand an inflation-busting pay rise to Moya Greene, its chief executive, just weeks after next month's General Election.
Sky News has learnt that directors of the privatised postal services group have been discussing the move to boost Ms Greene's salary ahead of the publication of its annual report, which is expected in June.
Insiders said on Tuesday that a final decision about the pay increase had not yet been taken, and that formal consultations with leading shareholders, including the Government, which holds a 30% stake in Royal Mail, were still to take place.
They added, however, that it was "likely" that Ms Greene would be awarded an increase to her £498,000 base salary of approximately 5%.
The increase, they said, would be lower than a 9% three-year pay deal for staff agreed between Royal Mail and the Communication Workers' Union in December 2013, just three months after the company's controversial £3.3bn privatisation.
Video:Royal Mail Boss Issues Post Warning
That agreement was designed to provide stability for industrial relations at Royal Mail even as Ms Greene wrestled with the twin challenges of increased competition for declining letter volumes and a changing regulatory framework.
It was unclear on Tuesday whether Royal Mail would seek the formal consent of the Government to hand a pay increase to its chief executive, although one source said that directors were determined to retain Ms Greene and were prepared to resist any attempts to maintain her salary at current levels for a fifth successive year.
One source close to the company pointed to a £535,000 pay and bonus deal awarded to Britain's new arms procurement chief as evidence that Whitehall was "prepared to pay commercial rates" to top executives.
In last year's annual report, Orna Ni-Chionna, the non-executive director who chairs Royal Mail's remuneration committee, wrote: "We …decided to make no change of any sort to the potential remuneration of our Chief Executive, Moya Greene.
"In making that decision, we took account of her views and wishes.
"This means that her salary has remained the same each year since she joined our Company in July 2010 and her annual bonus and LTIP [long-term incentive plan] potential have remained the same since the current policy was introduced in 2011."
Donald Brydon, who is to step down as Royal Mail's chairman later this year, has previously said that Ms Greene's status as "the lowest-paid chief executive in the FTSE-100" meant there was a greater risk of losing her.
Ms Greene, who ran Canada's postal service before moving to the UK, is widely regarded as having performed strongly in steering the former state monopoly through an ongoing restructuring as well as its privatisation 18 months ago.
However, earlier moves to increase her pay, which some Royal Mail directors have pushed for, were hampered by a row with ministers over a £250,000 housing allowance which Ms Greene later volunteered to return.
Under reforms introduced by Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, shareholders now have a binding vote on the pay policies of listed companies.
Last year, talks between the company and Mr Cable's officials over its pay plans continued until the eleventh hour, indicating that they had had significant difficulty reaching an agreement.
Mr Cable has also clashed with Ms Greene over regulatory changes to the postal industry, accusing her of "scaremongering" over warnings about the viability of the Universal Service Obligation, which requires Royal Mail to deliver to every UK address for the price of a stamp.
Part of the sensitivity in Whitehall over remuneration at Royal Mail stems from the repeated accusation that ministers allowed the company to be sold too cheaply.
In a report in December, Lord Myners, the former City Minister, said future state asset sales should be handled differently in order to preserve greater value for taxpayers.
Since the Government sold a 60% stake - with a further 10% handed to the company's workforce - the shares have endured a rollercoaster ride.
An initial surge in their value saw them almost double during the three months after the flotation, but a combination of regulatory and competition issues have since weighed on the shares.
On Tuesday, they closed up 1.3% at 448p, giving the company a market value of nearly £4.5bn.
Written By Unknown on Selasa, 07 April 2015 | 11.46
By Poppy Trowbridge, Consumer Affairs Correspondent
Major changes to pension rules come into effect today which will allow savers to have more control over their money when they retire.
People aged over 55 are now able to cash in their pensions and spend them as they wish.
The changes were announced by Chancellor George Osborne in his Autumn Statement and were expanded in last month's Budget.
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Retirees are no longer required to use their pension pot to buy an annuity when they retire.
Video:What Advice Is Available?
They can now take their pot in one go, or use it like a bank account to withdraw money in slices.
The changes will apply to the 320,000 people who retire each year with a defined contribution (DC) pension.
Around 540,000 people will be able to take control of their savings from today, according to estimates from the Government.
And from next year, as many as six million pensioners who already have an annuity will be allowed to sell them for cash.
Critics of the new system say savers will be tempted to go on a spending spree, leaving the state to pick up the tab later on.
But Pensions Minister Steve Webb told Sky News: "We're not going to have two million people making decisions this week or this month.
Video:How Will People Use Their Money?
"We certainly think there will be many thousands of people who have planned very carefully and put the capacity in place.
"But I think lots of people, although they in theory could use these new freedoms, in fact if you're in your late 50s and still working, you may go on saving into a pension for many years to come."
Government advisor and pension expert Ros Altmann said: "This is a radical departure from the past. I would trust people with their own money.
"Now it's up to the industry to offer better products and more choice."
The freedoms come at a price: those who choose to tap their defined contribution pension pots for cash should be aware of income tax thresholds.
Some 25% of a person's savings can be taken tax free. Any extra that is withdrawn is liable for income tax at 40% if the total exceeds £42,386 when added to annual income.
Video:SNP Leader Launches Pension Plan
The revenues from this could raise an extra £1bn for the Treasury, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
The Government's free, impartial, Pension Wise service has been established to offer guidance to everyone eligible for the freedoms.
Pensions minister Steve Webb said: "It is right that people should have the power to make their own decisions about how they spend their own money after decades of careful saving - ending the effective obligation to buy an annuity will give people back control of their financial affairs."
It came as SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon launched her party's plan for pensioners, listing "the kind of policies" they will pursue if they secure a significant number of seats in the General Election.
"We will maintain the 'triple lock' on pensions, we'll set the single-tier pension at £160 a week, we'll resist any further increases in the state retirement age in Scotland until we have tackled and closed the life-expectancy gap (and) we will absolutely oppose any attempt to take away the winter fuel allowance."
Britain's energy companies have launched an extraordinary attack on one of the country's most respected business groups amid calls for the Government to scrap an £11bn scheme that will see smart meters installed in every UK home.
Sky News has obtained a copy of a private letter from Lawrence Slade, the chief executive of EnergyUK, in which he accuses Simon Walker, director-general of the Institute of Directors (IoD), of producing a "flawed", "damaging" and "ill-informed" analysis of the issue.
Mr Slade's attack follows an IoD report late last month which said that the UK-wide rollout of smart meters should be "halted, altered or scrapped" to avoid an "unjustified, over-engineered and expensive mistake".
The Government initiative is due to be completed by the end of the decade and could cost as much as £11bn, although some analysts suggest that consumers could ultimately save a far greater sum from the installation of the new technology, which will replace estimated meter readings.
It is the latest conflagration to engulf the energy sector at a time when the supply of gas and electricity is at the centre of a political crackdown and a wide-ranging probe by competition regulators.
Mr Slade's letter to Mr Walker is far more robust than EnergyUK's public response to the IoD report, which said only that: "The national roll-out of smart meters is one of the most significant infrastructure projects the energy industry has seen for years.
"It will make estimated bills a thing of the past, help improve energy efficiency and be of great value to consumers.
"As with any project of this size there are many challenges to overcome and Government support is essential.
"However, the industry is committed to facing these challenges and delivering cost effective, practical solutions for consumers."
Mr Slade's private letter, however, represents an extraordinary salvo against the IoD, whose members include tens of thousands of company directors from across the UK, including many who work in the energy industry.
In the letter to Mr Walker, he wrote: "My members will be responsible for the rollout so I was surprised and concerned that, particularly as I am an IoD member, Energy UK was neither asked for information or comment. I cannot stress enough that ill-informed comment, such as contained in your report, is extremely damaging.
"Smart metering has already been shown to help improve trust between energy suppliers and their customers, bringing an end to estimated billing and giving consumers much greater understanding and control on their energy usage.
Mr Slade labelled the IoD report as being "flawed throughout" and slammed a proposal that consumers should take a photograph of their meter reading an text it to their supplier as an alternative to smart meters as being "to say the least, misguided".
He went on to say: "Leaving aside the essential need to upgrade the UK energy sector if we are to harness the full benefits of a competitive market, your report risks undermining this major programme which aims to give customers greater control over their energy costs.
"Without buy-in to adopting new technology the UK risks losing its leadership in flexible energy markets, essential to meet our future energy challenges.
"The roll out is also supporting thousands of jobs across the country and encouraging significant new investment in UK plc."
The IoD's call for the smart meter programme to face the axe reflects an increasingly interventionist approach in key business issues adopted by Mr Walker.
Since taking the helm of an organisation traditionally known for its reserve, he has mounted attacks on pay at Barclays and the transparency of the City's top fund management institutions.
An IoD spokesman declined to comment on Mr Slade's letter.
Written By Unknown on Senin, 06 April 2015 | 11.46
By Mark Kleinman, City Editor
One of a new wave of banks set up to challenge the hegemony of the UK's established high street lenders will announce this week that it has poached a senior executive from the Bank of England.
Sky News has learnt that Bank and Clients (B and C) has lured Nicole Coll, the chief financial accountant at the Bank of England since June 2013, to become its first chief of finance and operations.
The appointment, which will be announced on Tuesday, underlines the extent to which start-up banks are turning to regulators and central banks to fill their executive ranks as they seek senior staff with significant experience.
Prior to joining the Bank of England, Ms Coll held senior roles at Societe Generale, the French banking group, and Marex Spectron, a broker-dealer.
B and C was set up recently by Ocean Capital, an investment firm, which paid £13m to acquire a banking licence held by Somerset-based Church House Trust.
Offering a range of mortgage and savings products, it had been relegated to a peripheral role at Virgin Money, which took ownership of it in 2009.
Ocean Capital provided loans to private and public companies across Europe and North America, and is led by two brothers, Edouard and Julien Bridel.
Under the B and C name, the bank now intends to strengthen its focus on business lending.
B and C's launch coincides with the stock market listings of two rival challenger banks, with shares in Aldermore and Shawbrook both performing strongly since making their stock market debuts in recent weeks.
A string of other start-up banks have begun to emerge in the years since the financial crash, including Metro Bank and OakNorth, which this week announced that Lord Turner, the former chairman of the Financial Services Authority, would join its board.
Meanwhile, Lord McFall, the previous chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, has joined Atom Bank, a digital-only venture, as a director.
Further measures to promote competition in banking were announced last month in George Osborne's final Budget before the General Election, with a particular focus on a new Midata tool to enable consumers to compare current accounts.
The Competition and Markets Authority is due to conclude an inquiry into the personal current accounts and SME banking markets later this year.
The perception that challenger banks will be assisted by Government policy whatever the outcome of May's election was one factor in the timing of the decisions by Aldermore and Shawbrook to proceed with their listings in the early part of this year.
A spokesman for B and C declined to comment on Ms Coll's appointment.
The Conservatives have been accused by Labour of favouring the rich after the Chancellor refused to rule out cutting the top rate of income tax in a Sky News interview.
George Osborne told the Murnaghan programme his party had "no plans" to further reduce the top rate of tax and insisted it was not a priority.
Prime Minister David Cameron also said: "It's not our policy, it's not our plan."
But Labour claim the Chancellor has been "flushed out", pointing out Mr Osborne used the same words about VAT before the last election, which he then raised from 17.5% to 20%.
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Video:Election Day Seven: Milking It
The opposition has promised to bring back the 50p rate for those earning upwards of £150,000, claiming the cut to 45p had benefited the wealthiest by at least £85,000.
Pressed on whether top earners could be in line for another tax cut, Mr Osborne said: "You can judge us by what we say we want to do.
"And what we want to do is increase the tax-free personal allowance to £12,500 so people full-time on the minimum wage don't have to pay income tax and millions are better off.
"And when it comes to higher rate taxpayers our priority is increasing the threshold at which you pay that higher rate, the 40p rate, to £50,000.
"Those are our big tax commitments for the coming parliament."
Tackled repeatedly over whether the top rate could be cut further, Mr Osborne said: "If that was our priority or our plan we would have made it part of our plan and made it one of our priorities."
Video:Faisal Files: Decisive Devon
But Labour's Chris Leslie told Murnaghan this was the same argument previously used by Mr Osborne on VAT, which he had then increased.
The party's priority, he claimed, "is always about helping the very richest in society".
Mr Leslie said later: "The Conservative Party's secret plan has now been exposed.
"Asked four times, George Osborne repeatedly refused to rule out another top-rate tax cut for millionaires.
"The Tories have raised taxes for millions but cut them for millionaires.
"And it's now clear that if they win the election they'll do the same again."
Video:Osborne Won't Rule Out Top Tax Cut
But Treasury minister David Gauke hit back, claiming Labour have a "secret plan" of their own for £3,028 of tax rises for every working family.
He said: The British people have a right to know what these tax hikes are.
"Already Ed Balls has been forced to admit that Labour will drag a million more hardworking taxpayers into the 40p income tax rate.
"The reality is Labour also need a National Insurance rise to make their sums add up.
"Conservatives will freeze VAT, Income Tax and National Insurance.
"So the choice at this election is clear. Lower taxes under David Cameron. Or higher taxes under Ed Miliband and the SNP."
Video:Cameron: No Change To Top Tax Rate
The clash over tax is just the latest between the two main parties as the election campaign gets into full swing.
In recent weeks, Mr Cameron ruled out an increase in VAT while Labour committed not to increase National Insurance.
Mr Osborne also warned "an unholy alliance" between Labour and the SNP after the election would threaten the future of the UK and its economy.
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has offered to help Ed Miliband "lock David Cameron out of Downing Street" amid claims she had told the French ambassador she would prefer a Tory win.
Written By Unknown on Minggu, 05 April 2015 | 11.46
By Mark Kleinman, City Editor
A row over company bosses' political affiliations ahead of the General Election deepened on Thursday amid allegations that Labour was trying to undermine the leaders of some of the UK's biggest businesses.
Friends of the Prudential chief executive, Tidjane Thiam, told Sky News that he was "irritated" at suggestions from Labour sources that he was reconsidering his backing for a pro-Conservative letter which appeared in The Daily Telegraph this week.
The letter, which was originally signed by 103 business leaders, expressed support for Tory economic policies and warned that a "change of course" could jeopardise Britain's economic recovery.
Despite indicating that Labour was unconcerned by bosses' backing for the Tories, one Labour aide suggested on Thursday that Mr Thiam had "regretted" his decision to sign the Telegraph letter.
That provoked a robust response from people close to the Prudential chief, who is leaving his role this year to head the Zurich-based banking group Credit Suisse.
Video:Labour 'Wants Business To Succeed'
"He made his views clear and they speak for themselves, so he is unlikely to be happy at anyone else trying to misrepresent his position," a friend of Mr Thiam said.
Labour had earlier seized on a decision by Pascal Soriot, chief executive of the drug-maker AstraZeneca, to withdraw his association with the pro-Tory letter.
Mr Soriot did not say why he had signed the letter, but issued a statement saying: "Neither I nor AstraZeneca endorse any political party and while I support such policies my name should not be used in the context of the letter."
Labour aides also tried to claim that the chief executive of Ladbrokes had also changed his mind about being a signatory but omitted to mention that Richard Glynn, whose name appeared on the list of supporters, stepped down this week.
Video:Business Leaders Back Tories
His successor, Jim Mullen, said he would not sign any similar letters during an election campaign.
A Conservative Party source said that Labour was trying to "intimidate or undermine" business leaders from speaking out on the economy.
Sky News revealed earlier this week that Stefano Pessina, the boss of Walgreens Boots Alliance, had been approached but declined to sign the letter just weeks after being attacked by Ed Miliband for saying that a Labour government could be "disastrous".
In Thursday's seven-way party leaders' debate, David Cameron referred to the support from business leaders as evidence for the need to keep the Tories in government.
Video:David Gauke Discusses Open Letter
The festering row about business support for the main parties was also reignited this week when Chuka Umunna, the Shadow Business Secretary, said that Paul Walsh should not become the next president of the CBI after opting to show support for the Conservatives.
Sky News revealed in February that Mr Walsh, the former chief executive of Diageo, was being lined up to succeed Sir Mike Rake, and his appointment is expected to be confirmed later this month.
Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 04 April 2015 | 11.46
By Mark Kleinman, City Editor
A row over company bosses' political affiliations ahead of the General Election deepened on Thursday amid allegations that Labour was trying to undermine the leaders of some of the UK's biggest businesses.
Friends of the Prudential chief executive, Tidjane Thiam, told Sky News that he was "irritated" at suggestions from Labour sources that he was reconsidering his backing for a pro-Conservative letter which appeared in The Daily Telegraph this week.
The letter, which was originally signed by 103 business leaders, expressed support for Tory economic policies and warned that a "change of course" could jeopardise Britain's economic recovery.
Despite indicating that Labour was unconcerned by bosses' backing for the Tories, one Labour aide suggested on Thursday that Mr Thiam had "regretted" his decision to sign the Telegraph letter.
That provoked a robust response from people close to the Prudential chief, who is leaving his role this year to head the Zurich-based banking group Credit Suisse.
Video:Labour 'Wants Business To Succeed'
"He made his views clear and they speak for themselves, so he is unlikely to be happy at anyone else trying to misrepresent his position," a friend of Mr Thiam said.
Labour had earlier seized on a decision by Pascal Soriot, chief executive of the drug-maker AstraZeneca, to withdraw his association with the pro-Tory letter.
Mr Soriot did not say why he had signed the letter, but issued a statement saying: "Neither I nor AstraZeneca endorse any political party and while I support such policies my name should not be used in the context of the letter."
Labour aides also tried to claim that the chief executive of Ladbrokes had also changed his mind about being a signatory but omitted to mention that Richard Glynn, whose name appeared on the list of supporters, stepped down this week.
Video:Business Leaders Back Tories
His successor, Jim Mullen, said he would not sign any similar letters during an election campaign.
A Conservative Party source said that Labour was trying to "intimidate or undermine" business leaders from speaking out on the economy.
Sky News revealed earlier this week that Stefano Pessina, the boss of Walgreens Boots Alliance, had been approached but declined to sign the letter just weeks after being attacked by Ed Miliband for saying that a Labour government could be "disastrous".
In Thursday's seven-way party leaders' debate, David Cameron referred to the support from business leaders as evidence for the need to keep the Tories in government.
Video:David Gauke Discusses Open Letter
The festering row about business support for the main parties was also reignited this week when Chuka Umunna, the Shadow Business Secretary, said that Paul Walsh should not become the next president of the CBI after opting to show support for the Conservatives.
Sky News revealed in February that Mr Walsh, the former chief executive of Diageo, was being lined up to succeed Sir Mike Rake, and his appointment is expected to be confirmed later this month.
