How will the bond markets react to the Budget? October 30, 2024 For all the government’s promises of stability and hoped-for reductions in interest rates, UK yields on government bonds are now, in fact, very similar to the levels to which they rose under the ill-fated Truss government, says Paul Ormerod There has been a huge amount of speculation about the Budget. Later today we will of [...]
Bosses scramble to sell shares amid fears of Budget capital gains tax raid October 29, 2024 UK executives have been “racing to sell shares” at a record rate as fears mount that Chancellor Rachel Reeves will raise capital gains tax at tomorrow’s Budget. Last week, directors sold £29.8m of their companies shares, while only buying £4.1m, leaving a net £25.7m of stocks sold. Meanwhile, over the last month, investors have sold [...]
Autumn Budget 2024: Minimum wage set for above inflation hike October 29, 2024 Firms could be set to face higher payroll costs as the minimum wage is reportedly set to increase by more than six per cent at Wednesday’s Budget. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to announce an above inflation raise that is higher than was predicted last month, according to the Times newspaper. It will result in [...]
Business will be looking at where taxes are going, not just where they are October 29, 2024 Tomorrow’s Budget announcements will capture immediate attention, but it’s the tax roadmap that could have the most enduring impact, says Chris Sanger The government’s decision to publish a corporate tax roadmap in this week’s Budget is intended to strengthen the UK’s economic foundations and attractiveness as a destination for capital. This move comes at a [...]
London jobs market hit hard due to ‘frenzy of Budget speculation’ October 29, 2024 Muniya Barua, deputy chief executive at BusinessLDN, said that the "frenzy of Budget speculation" was weighing on employers' hiring intentions.
How retail investors are bracing for a Rachel Reeves tax raid October 29, 2024 Fear among retail investors is building in the face of this week’s Budget, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ rumoured changes to capital gains tax and inheritance tax hanging over the heads of individual stockpickers. While capital gains tax currently sits at 20 per cent, speculation has spread that it could be hiked when the government lays [...]
Rachel Reeves puts £240m into new back to work ‘trailblazers’ October 29, 2024 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced a £240m funding boost for the rollout of local services tasked with getting the long-term sick back into work. Ahead of the Budget, Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed that tackling rising economic inactivity would be a core economic priority for his government. “We will always help those who cannot support [...]
Wealth tax ‘could cost the UK £100bn in 10 years’ October 29, 2024 The UK is especially vulnerable to the ill effects of a wealth tax and could suffer a near £100bn hit to its GDP in a decade were one introduced, a paper out today has argued. A two per cent tax applied to those with a net wealth of £10m would incur a 0.4 per cent [...]
Why wealth taxes always fail October 29, 2024 Almost every country that has tried imposing wealth taxes has later abolished them, with good reason says John O’Connell Rachel Reeves’ problem tomorrow is a simple one to describe, if not a simple one to solve. How does she raise the revenue needed to fund the spending binges of her colleagues, without raising taxes on [...]
This will-we, won’t-we budget is causing economic harm October 29, 2024 Watching the will-we, won’t-we budget commentary unfold over the past few months has been painful and has caused significant uncertainty across the market. Not to mention that delaying the budget to October following the July election was a misstep, it has resulted in drawn-out public scrutiny of the multitude of possible tax changes on the [...]