Inheritance tax brought in nearly £600m a month, as experts warn that frozen threshold is punishing taxpayers February 21, 2023 Inheritance tax (IHT)receipts for January 2023 totalled £578m up from £443m in the same month a year ago, according to HMRC figures. It takes the total inheritance tax take for the 2022-23 Financial Year to date to £5.9 billion, £853 million higher than through the same period last year. The total IHT take for 2021-22 [...]
BHP profits dive £2.6bn as world’s largest miner falls victim to China’s pandemic restrictions February 21, 2023 BHP has suffered a heavy decline in profits, following pandemic restrictions in China and reduced demand for iron ore.
Jeremy Hunt’s fiscal rules are holding back the UK economy – it’s time for change February 21, 2023 Bean counters are running the Treasury again. I’m imagining sheets of paper plastered with Jeremy Hunt’s current fiscal rules pinned up around Whitehall to remind departments of the belt-tightening needed to balance the books. Fiscal rules are targets Chancellors have aimed to meet since George Osborne pivoted away from Gordon Brown’s “Golden Rules” in 2010 [...]
Prepayment customers twice as likely to go into debt, new data reveals February 20, 2023 People with prepayment meters in their homes have been nearly twice as likely to dip into debt due to the cost of living crisis than others.
Can The Maldives cure me? I went to find out February 20, 2023 “The first dedicated wellness retreat in the Maldives,” they said. “Nonsense,” I said. Every Maldivian island and their dog has “well-something” splashed across their website. Once you’re done petting dolphins, what else is there to do but be tended to by therapists promising repair, realignment, reconnection, restoration and revitalisation? “I’m not having it,” I thought. [...]
Analysis: Fintechs need to get back to basics and forget the flashy stuff February 20, 2023 Fintech firms in the UK have long driven new products trying to change the game in financial services, but as investment dries up in the face of a recession, they need to go back to basics, writes Lyle Wraxall.
Bitcoin digs in as the battle for $25k begins February 20, 2023 The price of Bitcoin yesterday broke $25,000 for the first time since June last year, settling around $24,500 this morning.
Tech sector needs a ‘shot in the arm’ to make UK’s Silicon Valley dreams come true, industry says February 20, 2023 Britain’s ambition to create its own Silicon Valley is achievable but only if the government implements a long-term strategy to boost domestic and foreign confidence in the country’s tech sector, industry experts have warned. Last month, business secretary Grant Shapps set out plans to create a “Silicon Valley with a British edge”. Trade association techUK [...]
Culture war concerns are creating new divisions for Conservatives to traverse February 20, 2023 Rishi Sunak has dug a line in the sand on culture war issues, but it's already created new ideological division which could split the Conservative Party, writes Eliot Wilson
To stay out of a recession, we need to get on with hashing out a deal on Northern Ireland February 20, 2023 Since the UK voted for Brexit, Northern Ireland has been a headache for politicians and businesses alike. Time to finally end the madness, writes Chris Hayward.