Fears increased bank levy will hurt lending and competition December 5, 2012 LENDING prospects took another knock yesterday as the bank levy was hiked again – though the government claimed it was needed to keep revenues steady even as the sector shrinks. Analysts warned the measure reduces incentives for banks to grow, takes money away from them which could be used to increase lending or capital levels, [...]
Cable’s plans get go-ahead December 5, 2012 A LONG touted UK Business Bank to help to provide financing to small and medium sized firms is to launch in Autumn 2014 after the Treasury confirmed £1bn of funds for the venture. The proposal, first announced in September by business secretary Vince Cable, will have a soft launch next Spring and will become fully [...]
HMRC funds to fight avoidance December 5, 2012 HMRC will receive an additional £77m to fight tax avoidance following yesterday’s announcement. There will also be new restrictions on the tax arrangements of firms that bid for government business, something that could have an adverse effect on outsourcers. Jason Collins of law firm Pinsent Masons said: “Reading between the lines, companies will not get government [...]
Shake-up for teachers as pay linked to results December 5, 2012 TEACHERS will no longer get an automatic pay rise every year simply by virtue of staying in the job and will instead be paid by results, with the best performers getting the biggest pay rises under plans announced yesterday. But no changes are planned for NHS, prison service and civil service pay, as the government [...]
Slow rise in threshold means 400,000 more paying 40p rate December 5, 2012 HUNDREDS of thousands more workers will be dragged into the higher rate tax bracket under new proposals announced yesterday, which will see the threshold rise at both below the rate of inflation and wage increases. The higher rate threshold will go up by one per cent in 2014-15 and 2015-16, bringing an additional 400,000 people [...]
Income tax allowance raised 2.5pc higher than expected December 5, 2012 PERSONAL income tax allowances are to rise by more than planned to reach £9,440 from April 2013, it was announced yesterday. The move is £235 higher than anticipated and means an annual increase of £1,335 in the threshold at which people start paying tax. The Treasury predicts the move will benefit 24.4m people and take [...]
Gove’s free school programme gets boost with £1bn injection December 5, 2012 ALMOST £1bn will be spent on building up to 100 new free schools and academies by the end of this parliament. The £980m fund, which will also be spent on expanding the size of top-performing schools, has been created in a bid to combat a squeeze on places in areas with the greatest pressure. The initiative [...]
Thousands of civil servants face the sack December 5, 2012 THOUSANDS of Whitehall staff are set to lose their jobs over the next two years, following yesterday’s confirmation that most departments face budget cuts from next financial year. With some departments – such as health – enjoying a ringfenced budget, others face being decimated in order to raise billions of pounds to fund infrastructure projects. [...]
Statement brings halt to £425m rates hike on small businesses December 5, 2012 BUSINESS rate relief will not halve in April, as planned, but will be extended into 2014, it was revealed yesterday. Businesses using only one property, with a rateable value of £6,000 or less, currently pay nothing whatsoever in business rates – but were set to lose half their rate relief as the measure expired at the [...]
Developers given grace period from empty property rates December 5, 2012 A MOVE to grant retailers and developers a grace period free from paying empty rates on new buildings has been dismissed by industry insiders as “not going far enough”. The chancellor said yesterday that all newly built commercial property completed from October 2013 to September 2016 will be free from empty property rates for the [...]