‘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 [...]
Inheritance tax on farms: Lidl, Tesco and Aldi join demands for consultation January 22, 2025 Supermarkets Lidl, Tesco and Aldi have added their names to calls for a consultation over the government’s reforms to inheritance tax, citing concerns the changes would dent farmer confidence and choke off investment. In an unusual string of interventions, the retailers rode to the defence of farmers’ calls to pause the changes to Agricultural Property [...]
Further tax rises ‘a good bet’ after Chancellor’s borrowing blow January 22, 2025 Borrowing in the month of December was at its third highest level since monthly records began back in 1997, excluding only the pandemic and 2009.
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.
PRA under pressure to cut red tape as growth plans fail to excite the City January 22, 2025 The banking regulator is under pressure to go further and faster in its efforts to cut red tape from the City after it outlined plans to boost the growth of firms within its remit last week. In a letter to the Prime Minister and Chancellor, the PRA, which sits within the Bank of England and [...]
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 [...]