National living wage to rise almost five per cent next year October 29, 2018 The national living wage is set to rise nearly five per cent from £7.83 to £8.21 per hour, chancellor Philip Hammond revealed in today's Budget. To be implemented in April next year, the government estimated that this will increase the annual pay of a person in full-time employment by £690 per year. Additionally, Hammond said the [...]
IR35: Campaigners welcome delay to private sector tax shake-up, but say business costs will increase October 29, 2018 Industry experts welcomed the chancellor’s decision to delay a tax clampdown on self-employed private sector workers today, but claimed it would still hurt businesses when it is introduced. Changes that seek to tax off-payroll workers as full-time employees won’t hit the private sector until April 2020, Philip Hammond announced in his autumn Budget, after a [...]
UK government to sell remaining shares in RBS by 2024 October 29, 2018 The UK Government has revealed plans to sell its remaining stake in RBS by 2024 following its bailout of the bank a decade ago. The Government, which rescued Britain's fourth biggest bank with a £45.5bn bailout in 2008, expects to raise £20.6bn from the sale, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said. The OBR said [...]
‘End of austerity’ fails to lift sterling out of Brexit slump as Hammond sets aside £2bn for hard Brexit October 29, 2018 Philip Hammond’s Budget announcements failed to lift sterling, which continued to slide this afternoon as the chancellor announced the government’s spending plans to the House of Commons. With the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) lifting its growth forecast from 1.3 per cent to 1.6 per cent for 2019, and predicting a lower deficit of just [...]
Tax to hit private jet owners and long-haul flyers October 29, 2018 Long-haul flyers will pay and extra couple of pounds when booking their travel under new rules in the autumn budget. The rules will increase the air passenger duty (APD) paid on long-haul economy flights by £2, and higher class travel will increase by £4. Dury on long-haul journeys in private jets will see an increase [...]
Police intercept another suspicious package sent to CNN as suspect set to appear in court October 29, 2018 A third suspicious package sent to CNN in a week was intercepted in Atlanta today. The package was identical to the others allegedly sent by pipe bomb suspect Cesar Sayoc, the news agency reported. "There is no imminent danger to the CNN Center,” CNN president Jeff Zucker told staff in a memo, according to CNN. [...]
Help to Buy extended to 2023 for first time buyers: Industry reacts October 29, 2018 The fate of the government’s Help to Buy scheme was cleared up this afternoon after the chancellor said that he would be extending a revised version of the policy until 2023, but for first-time buyers only. From April 2021 the scope of Downing Street's flagship housing policy will be narrowed down, with only first-time buyers [...]
Fuel duty frozen for ninth year in a row October 29, 2018 Fuel duties will be frozen for the ninth year in a row, the government announced today. The continued freeze on the tax added to the price of petrol has saved the average car driver more than £1000 since 2010, Chancellor Philip Hammond said this afternoon. "We will freeze fuel duties for the ninth successive year… …bringing [...]
Universal Credit given £1bn boost to help “ease the transition” October 29, 2018 Universal Credit will receive a £1bn boost over the next five years to “ease the transition” following the rollout of the new benefit system. The Chancellor Philip Hammond also increased the Work Allowance – the amount claimants can earn before the Universal Credit (UC) awards begins to be withdrawn – by £1,000 from April 2019. [...]
No-deal Brexit funding ramped up to £2bn in Budget 2018 October 29, 2018 Funding to prepare the UK government for a no-deal scenario as it exits the European Union next year has been given an additional £500m, taking the total allocated to aid departments with the planning to over £4m. Chancellor Philip Hammond had already allocated £2.2bn to departments for Brexit preparations in last year's Autumn Statement, with a [...]