Wednesday newspaper round-up: Red tape, billionaires, diesel emissions

(Sharecast News) - Rachel Reeves has claimed that rules and red tape are acting as a "boot on the neck" of businesses and risk "choking off" innovation across the UK without bold reforms. In a speech to City bosses attending the Mansion House dinner at London's Guildhall on Tuesday evening, the chancellor heaped further pressure on regulators to allow for more risk in order to boost economic growth. - Guardian HM Revenue and Customs has been sharply criticised by parliament's spending watchdog for being unable to track how many billionaires pay tax in the UK. In a highly critical report on the collection of tax from wealthy individuals, the influential Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said HMRC could not say how much the super-rich either contributed to the exchequer or avoided. - Guardian

Donald Trump's plan for a 50pc tariff on copper is designed to turbocharge the American metals industry and safeguard supplies for the US military. But there is another, more surprising winner from the president's levy: Ed Miliband. Trump's proposed tariffs have rocked global markets, prompting copper miners to think again about sending any more shipments to America this year. - Telegraph

France's prime minister has proposed scrapping the country's public holiday for VE Day as he tries to get a debt-strapped nation to live within its means. François Bayrou has proposed axing two of the country's 11 bank holidays as part of a €44bn (£38bn) package intended to tackle the country's fiscal crisis. "As a nation, we must work more," Mr Bayrou said. "This change to our holiday calendar will bring in billions to the state budget, simply because businesses, shops, the civil service and the nation will be working and our production will be improved." - Telegraph

The government has dropped a plan to introduce a framework for standardising the calculation of carbon emissions as a way of cracking down on companies and investment funds making exaggerated environmental claims. The plan for a so-called green taxonomy, a classification tool that would have required companies to be more accurate and rigorous in their environmental claims, has been ditched, the Treasury said. - The Times

Lawyers representing motorists in the diesel emissions scandal have been accused of aiming to run up "eye-watering" fees of more than £76 million and "over-lawyering" the claim. Pogust Goodhead and Leigh Day are the two London law firms that represent the majority of about 1.5 million claimants in a High Court class action against vehicle manufacturers accused of diesel emissions fraud. - The Times