Small business tax rule changes will not boost Exchequer coffers, top accounting firm argues April 30, 2026 A leading accountancy and advisory firm has sounded the alarm over a consultation by HMRC into tax rules for small businesses, arguing it will not close the tax gap and would leave firms tangled in even more red tape. Blick Rothenberg argued that the current HMRC consultation into so-called close companies, which have fewer than [...]
Badenoch claims Reeves will be ousted as traders warn on Labour’s turn to left April 29, 2026 Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has predicted that Rachel Reeves will be sacked as Chancellor after the local elections in May, as top bankers warn of the impact of any left-turn by the government. Badenoch asked Sir Keir Starmer whether he would “reshuffle the Chancellor” after the May elections, with the Prime Minister not directly commenting [...]
Number of top rate taxpayers surges as frozen thresholds squeeze Brits April 29, 2026 The number of higher and additional rate taxpayers in the UK has soared since the start of the decade as frozen thresholds have dragged nearly two million into paying higher rates of tax despite not being classified as traditional high-paid professionals. According to the latest personal income statistics from HMRC covering the 2023/24 tax year, [...]
Lloyds fires bank tax warning shot as industry ‘ripe for cash grab’ April 29, 2026 Lloyds Banking Group has warned the Treasury not to look at the banks for a tax raid as the industry sets its sights on booming profits in 2026. The FTSE 100 giant beat profit expectations by a cool £200m in the first-quarter after booking £2bn. This was also followed up by an upgrade to its [...]
End of deadlock: Pension Schemes Bill to become law as government backs down April 29, 2026 The Pension Schemes Bill is set to become law after the House of Lords agreed to final watering down plans from the government, ending the long-standing deadlock between the two houses. The legislation had run into multiple walls amid consistent back and forth between the lower and upper house, after neither side refused to back [...]
Lloyds shares drop after income upgrade on higher interest rates April 29, 2026 Lloyds Banking Group has upgraded its income targets for the year as the bank expects to bring in more cash as interest rates remain elevated from the Iran war. The FTSE 100 financial giant – which counts Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland among its subsidiaries – said it expects net interest income to [...]
Rent controls: The left hand doesn’t know what the far-left hand is doing April 29, 2026 For just under 24 hours the residential landlord sector was seized by panic following reports that first appeared on Monday night that the Chancellor was preparing to impose a ‘temporary’ ban on rent increases. The policy of rent controls was hitherto the preserve of the Green Party and Labour’s loony left, but then came reports [...]
Business leaders, I beseech you, join the government and steer the ship of state April 29, 2026 Business leaders embody the antithesis of what the government machine has become, which is why it needs them, writes Ameer Kotecha.
Sadiq Khan’s ideological aversion to profit is blocking London housebuilding April 29, 2026 Just as measures to stimulate the housebuilding sector are being warmly received, Sadiq Khan is undermining efforts with talk of rent caps, writes Andrew Teacher.
UK set to suffer £35bn hit from Iran war as growth downgraded again April 29, 2026 The UK risks finding itself on the brink of recession as a result of the Iran war, a leading economics think tank has warned, as the potential damage to Rachel Reeves’ fiscal headroom and the threat of interest rates hikes has been laid bare in a new report. In what will come as dire reading [...]
