Recovery takes UK employment to all-time high with 30.94m people in work March 18, 2015 A record proportion of Britons are in work, providing a timely boost to chancellor George Osborne ahead of May’s General Election. There were 30.94m people in work in the three months ending January – 617,000 more than the same period last year, according to figures released yesterday by the Office for National Statistics. The employment [...]
Graduates urged to choose bank jobs over consultancies to earn more long-term March 18, 2015 Consultancies and investment banks might look the same at graduate recruitment fairs, but the long-term pay prospects are better at the banks, salary data firm Emolument.com said yesterday. The average new recruit at a consultancy will receive £49,000, just under the £54,000 that a new M&A banker will be paid. But top consultancies in fact [...]
UK set to be the second-fastest growing economy in the G7 March 18, 2015 The UK economy will be the second fastest growing in the G7 group of nations, an international economic group said yesterday. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is predicting growth of 2.6 per cent this year. While the US is predicted to grow 3.1 per cent and the UK’s forecast marking a downgrade [...]
Budget 2015: Banks bear brunt of pre-election tax increases March 18, 2015 Britain’s banks were targeted yet again for a tax raid yesterday, as the chancellor hit them with the biggest tax hike of any sector. George Osborne increased the bank levy for the ninth time since it was introduced in 2011, in a move which will raise an extra £4.4bn in five years. The tax, which [...]
Budget 2015: Britain’s savers rewarded with new tax breaks March 18, 2015 Savers are to be rewarded with a new personal savers allowance, which the Treasury said would take 95 per cent of taxpayers out of savings tax altogether. In a nod to the difficulties imposed on savers by unimpressive interest rates, the chancellor has introduced an allowance of £1,000 of interest earned on savings. Those whose [...]
Budget 2015: Boozers set for a boost with cuts to beer, cider and Scotch duties March 18, 2015 Britain’s publicans raised a toast after further cuts to alcohol duties were announced in the 2015 Budget. With 1p off a pint and two per cent off cider duty, it marks the third year in a row duties have been cut. However, Britain’s budding wine growers will be disappointed as their duty was frozen. Ernst [...]
Budget 2015: Reactions to the chancellor’s statement March 18, 2015 THE BUSINESS GROUP Confederation of British Industry director generalJohn Cridland The Budget provides a clear plan for fiscal health and growth and will help businesses create jobs. “Stability and consistency are what businesses need to grow and prosper. This Budget sets the tone, providing a clear plan for fiscal health and growth. [...]
Budget 2015: George Osborne has discovered his mojo March 18, 2015 George Osborne has long been considered a cunning political strategist – in some circles, at least. Personally, for a long time, I found that argument difficult to accept. His first few Budgets hardly showed signs of high-level Westminster acumen. The debut of 2010 was inevitably tough, confirming an unpopular hike in VAT. The next prompted [...]
Budget 2015: Take-home pay set to increase for UK workers March 18, 2015 Britain's workers will take home more of their income from April onwards, when the personal allowance goes up to £10,600. The amount that can be earned before tax is applied will increase again, to £10,800, in 2016, and then go up to £11,000 in 2017. For those paying the higher rate of tax, at [...]
Budget 2015: Google Tax gets green light as Treasury aims to reap £3.1bn in new avoidance clampdown March 18, 2015 The government pledged another tax clampdown yesterday, with the implementation of a so-called “Google tax” taking centre stage. The Treasury expects to raise £3.1bn over the next five years through the various measures announced. There has been ongoing concern in many quarters over what is perceived to be an unfair diversion of taxes by multinationals [...]