July Budget 2015: George Osborne’s spending plans in charts July 8, 2015 The first fully Conservative Budget in 18 years has arrived, and chancellor George Osborne hasn't been afraid to flex his muscle. Osborne paraded a new national living wage, committed himself to defence spending, promised £250m funding to help HMRC combat tax avoidance and evasion, abolished non-dom status and treated corporations to a tax cut. Here's [...]
July Budget 2015 – changes to mortgage tax relief: Here’s what to do now if you’re a buy-to-let landlord July 8, 2015 A major shake-up of the buy-to-let housing market could be about to take place, after chancellor George Osborne announced plans to change mortgage tax relief for landlords. In his Budget speech today, the chancellor said the relief will be cut to 20 per cent, from 40 to 45 per cent, in an effort to "level [...]
July Budget 2015: Dividend tax credit being scrapped in favour of £5,000 allowance July 8, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne is scrapping the dividend tax credit, introducing a £5,000 tax-free dividend in its place. On top of that, tax rates on dividend income are rising. Basic rate taxpayers – who currently pay 10 per cent, although this is offset by the tax credit – will pay 7.5 per cent on [...]
July Budget 2015: George Osborne cuts corporation tax and bank levy as he tells firms “Britain is open for business” July 8, 2015 George Osborne has made his case for keeping large corporations in the UK after he slashed corporation tax and the bank levy during the first all-Conservative Budget speech since 1996. In a Budget designed to "show the world the UK is open for business", the chancellor cut corporation tax to 18 per cent, as well as [...]
July Budget 2015: From Constantine to Margaret Thatcher – a brief history of Sunday trading hours July 8, 2015 It’s what retailers have been fighting for for generations: when George Osborne takes to the despatch box today, he may finally do what his predecessors couldn’t: scrap the Sunday Trading Act. The idea is that small retailers, who are faced with increased competition from their 24-7 online rivals, will be given a few extra hours [...]
July Budget 2015: Here’s what analysts said about George Osborne’s slashed corporation tax and abolished non-dom status July 8, 2015 George Osborne promised that his would be a “budget for working people” as he presented the first Conservative Budget since 1996. But how did he deliver on this promise for the financial industry? And how has the industry received the Budget? Here’s what analysts and firms are saying. Osborne’s Budget included several points of particular [...]
July Budget 2015: George Osborne announces pay rise for Britons with “national living wage” July 8, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne has said he will introduce a compulsory "national living wage" for people aged over 25 as part of his July Budget. Osborne said today that the new "national living wage" will start next April at the rate of £7.20 per hour, before rising to £9 an hour by 2020. He said it means [...]
July Budget 2015: George Osborne biggest Budget winner as chancellor becomes favourite for next Tory leader July 8, 2015 George Osborne was the biggest winner of today's Budget, becoming the favourite to replace David Cameron as the next Tory leader. Odds on the chancellor becoming the next party leader fell to 5/2, overtaking London mayor Boris Johnson on the list of potential contenders, according to Ladbrokes. Read more: The Budget as it happened – [...]
Greece debt crisis: Alexis Tsipras promises reform as Greece makes third bailout request July 8, 2015 Greece has made a formal request for its third bailout and will implement tax and pension reforms as early as next week. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras promised "credible reforms" will be put forward in proposals to creditors on Thursday in return for a three-year bailout fund. "[Greece will] file new concrete proposals, credible reforms, [...]
July Budget 2015: From a new living wage to cutting the bank levy, the key policies that will affect UK businesses July 8, 2015 Today was Britain's first Conservative-only Budget in almost 20 years, and in it chancellor George Osborne revealed a series of policy changes that will affect UK companies Here are the key announcements he made in the business-friendly budget, and what they mean for the UK's companies. Cut to corporation tax The amount of corporation [...]