Reeves should be honest: income tax is going up April 2, 2025 Income tax threshold freezes are a de facto tax rise but the revenue won’t be fully realised until the end of the parliament. She should adjust rates now while there’s still time to improve public services before the next election? And fix distortive cliff edges while she’s at it, says Will Cooling Rachel Reeves has [...]
Economics 101: consumers always pay for tariffs April 2, 2025 If there’s one thing every economist agrees on, it’s that the only people who benefir from tariffs are cynical politicians, says Daniel Freeman Economists almost never agree on anything. Even if you ask a single economist their view on a subject they will generally give you at least three contradictory positions. This makes the overwhelming [...]
‘Awful April’ price hikes will cause ‘inflation surge’ April 1, 2025 Sweeping price hikes coming into effect from Tuesday are set to push up inflation, a leading economics consultancy has said, as what many have called ‘Awful April’ is set to put an extra burden on businesses’ costs. Higher costs in everything from water to energy will contribute to a rise in inflation that peaks at [...]
Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes will cost me £1m – Hooch tycoon March 31, 2025 The founder of the alcoholic drinks empire behind the likes of Hooch and VK has warned the tax hikes announced by Rachel Reeves will cost him an extra £1m. Steve Perez, the boss of Derbyshire-headquartered Global Brands, added that the Chancellor has “stacked the odds” against businesses like his and that he has “no choice” [...]
Tax paid by companies has nearly doubled in 10 years March 31, 2025 Businesses account for over a quarter of all UK tax receipts, according to new research by Thomson Reuters. Chancellor Rachel Reeves said Labour would become more “pro-business” than previous governments in the run-up to last year’s election. But new data by Thomson Reuters raises questions about the Chancellor’s record in office as companies face an [...]
Businesses face billions of extra costs as wages and tax to rise March 30, 2025 UK businesses are set to face a multibillion-pound wave of higher costs this week as higher wages and tax increases come into force. Retail and hospitality bosses have warned that higher labour costs and taxes are set to push up prices for customers across the UK. A raft of measures linked to the Labour government’s [...]
Booze, chocolate, meat, flights: What will Labour tax next? March 28, 2025 Pitiful growth forecasts will tempt Reeves to impose sin taxes on everything from a can of coke to a holiday, says James Price I’ve previously called the Chancellor Reeves the Roundhead in these pages, in honour of her fun-killing ways. But she’s not the first Chancellor to tax having a good time. A tax designed [...]
Reeves ‘lost gamble’ and is likely to raise taxes, IFS claims March 27, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves is “likely” to raise taxes at this year’s Autumn Budget, Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) director Paul Johnson has warned, as he claimed an extension to income tax thresholds would make for the “easiest political win”. Reeves’ announced her £40bn tax raid at the last Autumn Budget in October. The bulk of [...]
A ‘do nothing’ Spring Statement means Autumn Budget will be a bloodbath March 27, 2025 The Chancellor has shied away from tackling the big challenges our economy faces, meaning pressure for tax rises in the Autumn will only increase, says Robert Salter The autumn budget might be a bloodbath in terms of tax as the government runs out of money and the triple lock could be broken. As promised, the [...]
Spring Statement provides some relief, but probably not for long March 26, 2025 The Spring Statement offered some reasonably good news on growth, but the margin for error is incredibly slim and the chances of further painful tax rises in autumn are high, says Julian Jessop Not quite a non-event, but it could have been a lot worse. Rachel Reeves’ Spring Statement is unlikely to do any significant [...]