Day: 29 November 2016

On Saturday, November 26, the Grimaldi Forum accommodated a full house for TEDxMonteCarlo. With the theme “(r)evolution”, the all day conference focused on innovation in the areas of engineering, technology, the arts and design.
The goal of TEDxMonteCarlo was to bring together visionaries and experts in a wide variety of fields to share their ideas for the future, unite the community and inspire new thinking.
Although the Principality of Monaco is the world’s second smallest country, it boasts some of the leading business leaders, scientists, athletes and environmental experts from across the planet. With such a diverse community, Monte Carlo serves as a fitting location to host a TEDx to attract a spectrum of high quality speakers and participants.
Notable speakers, with a discourse of less than 18 minutes each, Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag, Creative Director Jenke Ahmed TAILLY, and Vitality Chief Health Officer, Derek Yach, among many other impressive names.
HSH Princess Charlene graciously wrote the program foreword stating “this event demonstrates the thirst for knowledge and understanding in the Principality.”
The Monaco community was certainly engaged at the sold out event, with not a single one of the 400 seats left empty – and with a waiting list of more than a hundred would-be attendees
The TEDXMonteCarlo 13-strong team, lead by Licensee and Curator Nazanine Matin, and the advisory board made up of seven members, couldn’t have hoped for a more successful event and have created a buzz for a repeat performance next year.
 
 

As Sir Philip Green continues to face a storm of criticism in the wake of the collapse of UK high street chain BHS, another British businessman has been accused of not playing fair, this time for not paying taxes.
John Hargreaves, founder of the hugely successful Matalan fashion chain, is facing allegations at a tax tribunal that he failed to pay almost €100 million in tax by claiming that he was living in Monaco, which does not impose income tax.
As has happened in previous cases, the UK tax authorities appear to be trying to move the goalposts by enforcing their own definition of “ordinarily resident”, rather than counting days.
HM Revenue & Customs has claimed that Hargreaves. now 72, spent so much time in the UK that income and other benefits he gained from Matalan should be taxed in Britain.
The allegations date back to May 2001 when the businessman and his partner made £200 million by selling shares in the company.
Mr Hargreaves says that when the deal was finalised he was living in a hotel suite in Monaco. Mr Hargreaves claims he moved from the UK for a “settled purpose to live abroad permanently”, and over the years has lived in a hotel suite in Monaco, a yacht in the harbour and a rented apartment.
During the tax year in question, Mr Hargreaves travelled back to the UK more than 40 times in his role as executive chairman of Matalan, but did not exceed the number of days allowed in the UK under HMRC guidelines at the time.
READ MORE: MP report finds Sir Philip Green left BHS on “life support”