Will banks be able to escape a Reeves’ tax raid this Autumn? June 27, 2025 As Rachel Reeves watches her fiscal headroom crumble with every Labour U-turn, the Chancellor may return to her budget mantra that those with the “broadest shoulders should bear the heavier burden”. Lenders managed to skirt a tax raid in the 2024 budget after lobbyists warned it could damage the sector’s international competitiveness, but renewed fiscal [...]
Government accused of ignoring SMEs as firms fight for survival June 26, 2025 Three in five small business owners feel ignored by the government, according to a fresh survey, an increasing amount firms raise the alarm on their fight to stay afloat. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are calling on Westminster to take further measures to support businesses after 57 per cent fear for their survival in the [...]
UK innovation hinges on talent and clusters, says Lord Vallance June 20, 2025 The UK’s science and innovation lanscape is on the cusp of a major transformation, according to science minister Lord Patrick Vallance, who argued the UK must now “connect with its brightest clusters” and supercharge international partnerships to stay competitive. Speaking the recent India Global Forum on Thursday, the government’s national tech adviser and Oxford-Cambridge innovation [...]
AIM boss: Inheritance tax sums don’t add up June 19, 2025 As AIM celebrates its 30th anniversary the market’s boss is eying a crucial birthday present from the Treasury: tax clarity. AIM shareholders were thrust into the tax spotlight last month after a leaked memo revealed Angela Rayner proposed Chancellor Rachel Reeves slap a series of taxes savers. Scrapping the inheritance tax exemption for AIM shares [...]
Thwaites ‘extremely nervous’ Rachel Reeves will raise taxes in Autumn Budget June 17, 2025 Beer brewer Thwaites is “extremely nervous” about the possibility of Chancellor Rachel Reeves raising taxes further in her Autumn Budget. The Lancashire-headquartered group, which also owns pubs and hotels, added its industry is “under tremendous pressure” from Reeves’ first Autumn Budget due to the increases in the National Minimum Wage and the employer’s National Insurance [...]
Reeves’ tax hikes lead to spike in pubs going bust June 16, 2025 The series of tax hikes introduced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her Autumn Budget last year has contributed to a spike in pubs going bust across the UK in April, according to new figures. A total of 67 pubs closed down during the month – the highest number since July 2024 when 75 entered insolvency [...]
Was Reeves’ Spending Review a fintech endorsement? June 14, 2025 Rachel Reeves has promised to back UK fintech and in Labour’s inaugural Spending Review, she piled billions into the tech sector. The Chancellor handed the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) a hefty £16.5bn budget as she took the chop to other departments. DSIT’s expenditure limit is set to grow 7.4 per cent by [...]
Reeves’ tax hikes force Timothy Taylor to raise price of a pint June 13, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes have forced brewer Timothy Taylor to raise its prices as it slammed the “hostile fiscal and regulatory environment” it now faces. The family-owned brewer said its industry is facing “significant input and labour cost increases” as well as dealing with the fall in business rates relief. Timothy Taylor added that it [...]
Council tax spike to pay for Reeves spending plans June 12, 2025 Council tax will rise at the fastest pace in over two decades, fresh analysis has suggested, after a government document said it expected bills to rise to pay for local services. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has pointed to government documents published shortly after the Spending Review ended suggesting Brits will have to pay [...]
Reeves’ spending spree could open £20bn gap – which taxes will rise? June 12, 2025 Rachel Reeves splashed the taxpayer cash in her inaugural Spending Review, raising expectations the Chancellor may be coming back for more tax revenue in the Autumn if her growth ambitions are not met. Reeves is set to hand out an extra £190bn in government spending over the course of the parliament, in what she described [...]