Chancellor Philip Hammond’s tax hikes in yesterday’s Spring Budget spell political trouble March 9, 2017 Philip Hammond was beaten up pretty badly at last night’s meeting of Tory MPs. Colleagues rounded on him for hiking a tax on the self-employed (for which one can read, entrepreneurs) and for another raid on dividend payment tax relief. How exactly are Tory MPs meant to sell this to their voters? And how does [...]
Chancellor Philip Hammond picks a self-employed pocket or two in his first (and last) Spring Budget March 9, 2017 Chancellor Philip Hammond stands accused of breaking a key Conservative manifesto pledge after announcing a double-raid on Britain’s self-employed workers during yesterday’s Budget. Delivering the first of two Budgets this year, Hammond said he would raise the main rate of Class 4 National Insurance contributions (NICs) for the self-employed by one percentage point to 10 [...]
Councils will be offered £2bn to help fight off a crisis in the UK’s social care provision March 8, 2017 Local authorities will be offered up to £2bn over the next three years to help meet the cost of social care. The funding was announced by chancellor Philip Hammond earlier today with £1bn of cash set to arrive in 2017-18. Local Government Association chairman Lord Porter welcomed the announcement, saying the funding represented “a significant [...]
The chancellor needs more than a rainy day fund to help Britain weather Brexit March 8, 2017 In his final Spring Budget, the chancellor was already weaning his audience from this once important spring affair, with little of significant economic policy substance announced. He was handed a gift by the Office for Budget Responsibility in the form of an upgraded outlook for 2017, in anticipation of more resilient consumer spending, although expectations for [...]
Self-employed workers could be offered new options for parental leave March 8, 2017 Self-employed workers could be offered new options for parental leave under plans due to face consultation later this year. The government will this summer explore whether plans for the self-employed to pay higher National Insurance contributions should allow for state-funded paternal and maternal leave for new parents. Chancellor Philip Hammond announced the consultation today, citing in [...]
The Department for Education is going to pilot new lifelong learning schemes March 8, 2017 Ministers will spend £40m on plans to “test the effectiveness of different approaches to lifelong learning”. The effort comes as part of a focus on later life training, and chancellor Philip Hammond said the plan would “help the next generation learn and train throughout their lives.” Confederation of British Industry director general Carolyn Fairbarn said: [...]
The Treasury is plotting an £820m tax avoidance crackdown March 8, 2017 The Treasury is hoping to raise more than £800m from new anti- tax avoidance measures, including penalties for financial advisers. New penalties will come into force from July for tax experts like advisers, if they are found to have enabled the use of avoidance schemes later defeated by HM Revenue and Customs in the courts. The [...]
Following a furious reaction to the National Insurance hike, was the Budget bad news for entrepreneurs? March 8, 2017 Chris Bryce, chief executive of the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self Employed, says Yes. The chancellor heralded the UK’s economic strength and “record employment”, but then proceeded to hit the very people responsible for delivering this. No matter which way you choose to work, the self-employed now face a potentially hefty tax bill. [...]
Former chancellor George Osborne to make £650,000 a year for a four-day-a-month role at BlackRock March 8, 2017 Former chancellor George Osborne will be paid £650,000 a year to advise BlackRock four days a month, it has been revealed. Osborne started his role as a part-time senior adviser at the BlackRock Investment Institute, the asset manager's research arm, on 1 February. The role is focused on European politics, China's economy, and retirement planning in an age of [...]
Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox tells government: Sky takeover is “in the interest of the UK” March 8, 2017 Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox has written to the government setting out why its Sky takeover is “in the interest of the UK, its creative economy and its consumers”. Culture secretary Karen Bradley is currently considering whether to refer the £11.7bn deal to broadcasting regulator Ofcom. Read more: Murdoch Empire 2.0 or socialist witch-hunt? MPs [...]