Spending cuts risk ‘doom loop’, ex-Bank of England economist warns January 22, 2025 Andy Haldane warned cutting government spending would be harmful for the UK’s longer term fiscal position, because it would weigh on growth. The Chancellor will receive fresh economic forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) in March which will take into account sluggish growth since the Budget and higher government borrowing costs. These forecasts [...]
‘Pension death tax’ raid attacked by Hargreaves Lansdown and AJ Bell January 22, 2025 Britain’s biggest wealth management firms have mounted a coordinated attack on Rachel Reeves’ plans to slap inheritance tax on undrawn pension pots today, describing the proposals as “flawed and potentially damaging” to grieving families. In a letter to the Chancellor, the bosses of Hargreaves Lansdown, AJ Bell, Interactive Investor and Quilter, which collectively manage some [...]
Heathrow: Starmer won’t say if he backs London airport expansion January 22, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer has refused to say whether he would back the expansion of Heathrow Airport after voting against a third runway in 2018. The Prime Minister said would not be “comment on speculation” on the issue, as emphasised the government is “committed to growth” when asked about reports ministers could be set to approve [...]
Inheritance tax: Bill for Britain’s ‘most hated tax’ hits record January 22, 2025 HMRC collected £6.3bn in inheritance tax in the last nine months, but with changes to the code announced in Budget, this bill is expected to get bigger.
Davos: Reeves defends fiscal rules and says Heathrow expansion is ‘pro-growth’ January 22, 2025 Rachel Reeves has insisted the UK would continue to meet her “fiscal rules”, describing them as the “bedrock” of the stability she aims to restore to the economy and public finances. The Chancellor spoke at a Bloomberg event at the World Economic Forum in Davos, as the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said public sector [...]
UK economy: Borrowing overshoots expectations as interest bill spikes January 22, 2025 The figures come shortly after a bout of instability in the gilt market.
How much does tax really affect your decision making? January 22, 2025 From VAT on school fees to business taxes, we’re living through a live experiment with the effects of tax on people’s choices. Evidence suggests the results could be far from clear-cut, says Tim Sarson Last week, I was lucky enough to be on the panel for the Women in Tax network’s annual debate. The question [...]
Reeves has placed an uncertainty premium on the British economy January 22, 2025 Rachel Reeves promised to restore economic stability, but the outcome of her various actions has been to increase uncertainty, says Paul Ormerod Daniel Ellsberg, who died in 2023 in his 90s, was a true Renaissance Man. After a stellar career as an economics student at Harvard, he served in the Marines before working for the [...]
Spending review: No new cash unless departments cut by five per cent January 21, 2025 Government departments won’t receive any cash for new projects unless they meet the Treasury’s requirement of a five per cent spending cut, Darren Jones has said. The chief secretary to the Treasury spoke at the Institute for Government (IfG) think tank’s conference on Tuesday about the need for a “reckoning” with state spending. Jones wrote [...]
Business rates to more than double in ‘final blow’ to UK retailers January 21, 2025 Business rates are set to rise more than 140 per cent for thousands of high street businesses across the UK in yet another cost pressure for brick-and-mortar businesses. Business rates, which are levied on all commercial properties, were cut by 75 per cent in 2022 as high street stores found themselves unable to cope during [...]
