Italian bond yields jump as EU predicts slower growth and higher deficits November 8, 2018 Italian bond yields have jumped after the European Commission predicted a more pessimistic outlook for the country's economic than the Italian Government's forecast. The commission predicted Italy's budget would push its deficit to 2.9 per cent of GDP in 2019, rather than the 2.4 per cent estimated by Rome, and that it would rise to [...]
Mind your own business and stay out of Persimmon’s bonus scheme November 8, 2018 The news that Jeff Fairburn has been asked to leave Persimmon in the wake of the furore over his £75m bonus should not come as a surprise. There is a febrile atmosphere of media scrutiny when it comes to such matters, and shareholders had already branded the long-term incentive scheme pay-out as “grossly excessive”. Unfortunately, [...]
Good news – the evidence is in from across the Atlantic, and tax cuts benefit everyone November 7, 2018 From discussions on how the UK should reform its tax and regulatory landscape to make the most of post-Brexit opportunities, to the rallies midterm election candidates have been holding across the US championing or lambasting the President’s tax cuts, the debate is still raging about how changes to taxes impact economies. But if you need [...]
Hammond’s digital tax is an illogical game of whack-a-mole November 7, 2018 The introduction of a new digital services tax was the most depressingly inevitable part of Philip Hammond’s Budget speech last week. Years of pressure from a pincer movement of corporate tax moralists and traditional retailers have paid off. Starting in April 2020, profitable digital businesses with £500m in global revenues would face a two per cent [...]
EU leaders split on plans for a European digital tax November 6, 2018 EU member states have failed to reach a consensus on imposing an EU-wide digital services tax, which affects firms such as Facebook and Alphabet, over fears of potential US retaliation. The plan, which requires approval from all 28 EU member states, is opposed by many. The levy would see a three per cent tax placed [...]
Forget Trump, the midterms are about populism November 6, 2018 When the results of the US midterms start to come in this evening, some here in the UK will roll their eyes and think “what a crazy country”. Others will wonder why Britain and America are such anomalies with Brexit and Trump, and wish that we could be more like, say, Germany. The truth is [...]
Work should pay – for both high and low earners November 6, 2018 In a tense standoff with Labour MP Wes Streeting last night, chancellor Philip Hammond defended his decision to reduce the burden of income tax in the autumn Budget. The argument, played out in front of the Treasury Select Committee, was classic Tory v Labour fare. Streeting demanded to know why Hammond was cutting taxes instead of [...]
Brussels ups the ante over Italy budget November 5, 2018 Eurozone finance ministers stood their ground against the Italian government tonight, as it urged policymakers in Rome to revise its draft budget to align with European rules. The European Commission rejected Italy’s free-spending draft budget plan last month and ordered the government to submit a revised budget by 13 November. The EU’s economic and financial [...]
Hammond spies end of UK’s deficit despite Budget spending increase November 5, 2018 Chancellor Philip Hammond has said he believes the government’s target of eliminating the UK’s deficit is “within touching distance”, despite ramping up public spending and tax cuts in the Budget. Appearing before the Treasury Select Committee this evening, Hammond denied his 2016 plans to reach a budget surplus by the mid-2020s had been abandoned. However, he [...]
EU firms scramble to stay in the City in no-deal Brexit November 5, 2018 More than 1,000 EU firms have expressed their interest in taking up the UK's offer of continued access to the City in the event of a no-deal Brexit, according to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The City watchdog's international director Nausicaa Delfas said around 1,300 EU firms were seeking to trade within the FCA's temporary [...]