Covid is an opportunity to scrap business rates altogether October 16, 2020 No business can rightly complain about paying a reasonable amount of tax on profits it earns. Taxes on turnover, such as VAT and stamp duty, are less justifiable, as they are a tax on transactions. In these straitened times such taxes should be cut. But by far the worst kind of tax is property tax, [...]
Actively inactive: Identifying tension in the UK labour market October 16, 2020 The Covid-19 crisis and resulting responses to curb the spread of infections has caused tension to form in pockets of the UK labour market. Given how important it is to tackle economic inactivity if we are to speed the UK’s recovery, it is vital that these new labour market dynamics are recognised, and that steps [...]
Donald Trump needs to get back to basics on the campaign trail October 15, 2020 Tuesday’s Opinium poll showing Donald Trump trailing Joe Biden by a staggering 17 points will likely be the death knell for the President’s campaign. Even at the nadir of Trump’s 2016 campaign, when a leaked tape showed him bragging about him sexually assaulting women, the President’s poll deficit never dipped below 15 per cent in [...]
How UK business leaders can help Covid-hit female entrepreneurs in Africa October 15, 2020 How far does £40 get you? In the UK, and London especially, it might buy you a meal for two, take-out coffees for the month, or a nice cosy jumper to see you through the autumn and winter months. But in sub-Saharan Africa, such an amount could be life-changing. We’re not talking about hand-outs here, [...]
Beware the risk to economic stability if banks are asked to shoulder the full burden of Covid-19 October 15, 2020 The economic cost of Covid-19 has been — and will continue to be — immense. As the Bank of England publishes its surveys on bank liabilities and credit conditions today, it is a reminder that much of that cost will fall on the financial sector, and within that, on the larger banks. But how that [...]
Pay attention, London: Nicola Sturgeon’s spat with Alex Salmond could scupper her mission to break up the UK October 15, 2020 At a time when Londoners are all focusing on the latest lockdown restrictions, wondering what will become of our jobs, and asking if Trump or Boris will still be in post this time next year, does anyone other than expat Scots care who wins the stair-heid rammy between Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond? But care [...]
A message to Rishi from entrepreneurs: Forget tax hikes and let the go-getters get going October 15, 2020 Rishi Sunak certainly deserves praise for his response to the pandemic — so far. Because, as his recent statement to the Commons showed, the real test has only just begun. We have seen the chancellor take decisive action to avoid a bonfire of jobs, and he clearly has his eyes on the future. His speech [...]
Mayor 2.0: London deserves a leader who can punch at the capital’s weight October 14, 2020 It’s more than 20 years now since we saw the creation of an elected mayor of London with executive power over the whole city. Devised at a time of widespread devolution, public response to the role was lukewarm, with only around a third of voters bothering to express a preference either way. It was somehow [...]
Press freedom is under fire in Hong Kong — it’s time for Britain to take a stand October 14, 2020 Freedom of expression is a crucial and universal human right, recognised by international organisations around the world, including the United Nations. And rightly so. It is the job of journalists to shine a light on the authorities that govern us in order to hold them to account for their actions. A free press is an [...]
The government’s ballet dancer ad missed the mark – but let’s not write off retraining October 14, 2020 On Monday, the government faced a great deal of backlash for promoting adverts encouraging retraining — suggesting, among other things, that an aspiring ballet dancer should retrain “in cyber”. Condemned for being tone-deaf and undermining the arts sector, the criticism mirrors a similar reaction to comments made by the chancellor last week, when he claimed [...]