London Assembly members have sided with Uber over English language tests and want the mayor Sadiq Khan to drop written plans March 9, 2017 London Assembly members have sided with Uber in the battle over English language tests, despite Transport for London triumphing in court last week. The majority of members have backed a motion calling on the mayor Sadiq Khan to ditch the requirements for written tests for Uber and other minicab drivers due to the disproportionate and unfair [...]
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 [...]
Spring Budget 2017 figures predict banks will cough up an extra £2.1bn in bank levy and surcharge payments compared with Autumn Statement 2016 forecasts March 8, 2017 The government expects to pocket an extra £2.1bn from banks' coffers compared with what it forecast four months ago. Figures tucked away at the back of the spring Budget statement reveal the Treasury now expects to bring in £27bn from the bank levy and surcharge combined between financial years 2015-16 and 2021-22. The same analysis in last [...]
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 [...]
Budget 2017: Real wages predicted to rise after growth revised upwards this year by OBR March 8, 2017 Real wages are set to grow steadily for the next five years, the government’s Budget watchdog said, as it upgraded growth predictions for this year. Earnings will rise by 0.2 per cent above inflation this year, before accelerating to rise by 1.6 per cent more than prices by 2021, according to the Office for Budget [...]
Budget 2017: Consumer-led growth is unsustainable says former Bank of England deputy governor Sir Charlie Bean March 8, 2017 The consumption-led growth which prompted the government’s economic watchdog to raise its forecasts for the UK economy this year is “unsustainable”, according to a former deputy governor of the Bank of England. Sir Charlie Bean said households “have been running down savings” to fund consumption. However, “that is not sustainable,” he said in a briefing [...]
Budget 2017 UK: Nope, driverless cars are not in the Budget, Philip Hammond just used them for laughs about Corbyn’s Labour leadership March 8, 2017 You'd be forgiven for thinking that driverless cars are getting a major boost with plans announced in today's Budget to help the UK become a top player in automotive automation. For anyone listening to chancellor Philip Hammond's speech (or reading through the transcript), there was indeed mention of funding for disruptive technologies such as "biotech, robotics and driverless cars". [...]
Spring Budget: The OBR is still too pessimistic about UK growth this year March 8, 2017 The biggest story in the Budget wasn’t big news. It had been well flagged in advance that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) was revising up its GDP growth forecast to 2 per cent in 2017. In November last year, the OBR expected just 1.4 per cent GDP growth this year. HM Treasury’s latest monthly survey [...]
Budget 2017: Government announces plans to crack down on VAT evasion March 8, 2017 The government is cracking down on overseas traders that avoid paying UK VAT. In the Spring Budget today the Treasury has said that it will be putting in place measures to stop traders from undercutting UK businesses online by charging less and not paying tax on UK sales. To draw up a new collection method for VAT, [...]