Exclusive: Government’s widely-mocked careers quiz cost UK taxpayer £1.7m November 12, 2020 The government’s much-mocked jobs quiz that suggested people retrain as boxers, cinema projectionists and lock keepers cost the UK taxpayer almost £1.7m, City A.M. can reveal. The Discover Your Skills and Careers tool launched last year, but saw renewed interest last month after chancellor Rishi Sunak warned that Britain’s jobs market needed to “adapt and [...]
Aligning CGT with income tax would be a mistake, warns Andersen’s tax head November 12, 2020 The government’s tax advisory body published yesterday a highly anticipated report into capital gains tax, concluding that the current rules are ‘counter-intuitive’ and create ‘odd incentives’ in several areas. Instead, Rishi Sunak should increase capital gains tax rates in order to reel in an extra £14bn, according to the Office for Tax Simplification, as it [...]
UK regulators prepared to intervene if Brexit disrupts markets, says FCA November 12, 2020 British regulators are prepared to intervene if the UK’s full departure from the European Union on 31 December risks disrupting financial markets, an executive from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said. While Britain has already left the bloc, post-Brexit transition agreements gives banks and trading platforms full access to EU markets until the end of [...]
Downing Street: ‘Significant gaps’ remain in Brexit trade talks November 12, 2020 Downing Street has said “significant gaps remain” between the UK and EU in Brexit negotiations with talks not expected to yield a breakthrough this week. The Prime Minister’s spokesman told journalists today the UK was “working hard to get a deal”, but that little progress had been made. The unofficial deadline for the two sides [...]
Chancellor sets Budget for March 2021 November 12, 2020 The chancellor will announce a new government Budget in March as part of plans to hike income tax, the Treasury’s permanent secretary has announced. Speaking at a Public Accounts Committee meeting on the government’s furlough scheme this morning, Tom Scholar said: “There will be a Budget in March. We know a lot will change between [...]
UK declares China has broken joint treaty over expulsion of Hong Kong MPs November 12, 2020 The UK has declared that China has once again breached the Sino-British treaty over Beijing’s expulsion of pro-democracy Hong Kong MPs. Foreign secretary Dominic Raab said the move was a “clear breach of the legally binding Sino-British declaration” and that Beijing had “undermined Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy”. The Chinese parliament adopted a resolution [...]
City of London to be shut out of EU with no equivalence deal from January November 12, 2020 Brussels looks set to lock the City of London out of European markets from 1 January, with the EU not planning on granting regulatory equivalence for the whole bloc before the end of the Brexit transition period.
Rishi Sunak warns second lockdown will have ‘significant’ impact on UK economy November 12, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has warned that England’s second nationwide lockdown will have a “significant impact on the economy”, as today’s record GDP figures laid the ground for a steep slump over the winter. “Obviously restrictions of this nature do have a significant impact on the economy. We’ve already seen that when we’ve done this over [...]
What does the US election mean for healthcare investors? November 12, 2020 | City Talk Voting has already begun in the US presidential election with many polls predicting a win for Democrat candidate Joe Biden. A Biden victory has been perceived in many quarters as likely to be negative for the healthcare sector. However, as with everything to do with US healthcare, the reality is more complicated. The main focus [...]
UK must ‘knuckle down’ to get EU trade deal, says Irish PM November 12, 2020 The UK must “knuckle down” to secure a post-Brexit trade deal with the EU, the Irish prime minister has said. Taoiseach Michael Martin said failing to reach an agreement would be “very, very damaging all round”. The UK is running out of time to secure a trade deal with the bloc before the transition period [...]