Budget 2015 is all about that tax: Prepare for Osborne to say it every 31 seconds while wearing a blue tie, bookies predict March 17, 2015 It’s all about the tax in the upcoming budget. Chancellor George Osborne is expected to utter the word 108 times in his speech which is expected to last 56 minutes – or once every 31 seconds. That’s the predictions of spread betting firm Sporting Index when the chancellor takes the stage in the Commons for [...]
Budget 2015: This is how Londoners will benefit if there’s another beer duty cut March 17, 2015 George Osborne's decision on whether to change the tax paid on beer will be a hot topic tomorrow. There has been a 40 per cent increase in beer duty since 2008, and a third of what we pay for one pint of beer now goes to the government. Meanwhile, beer's popularity has fallen in the [...]
Oxfam anti-tax dodging protesters shower Westminster with fake money in run-up to 2015 budget March 17, 2015 Protesters from Oxfam donned their George Osborne and Danny Alexander costumes and took to Westminster this morning, in a protest against tax dodging. Dressed as the chancellor and chief secretary to the Treasury, the protesters posed with mock ministerial red boxes inside a glass dome, with fake bank notes flying all over the place. According [...]
No inheritance tax on homes worth less than £1m March 17, 2015 No one will have to pay inheritance tax on properties worth less than £1m, under plans being drawn up by the chancellor. Although the plans are unlikely to be announced as part of tomorrow's Budget, it's thought they'll be included in the Conservative manifesto. According to an "insider" who spoke to the Sunday Express, options [...]
Budget 2015: George Osborne has failed to face up to Britain’s long-term fiscal challenges March 16, 2015 We know a lot about tomorrow’s Budget from George Osborne’s TV appearances over the weekend. He will announce “a Budget for the long term” that will “raise living standards”. It will be a balanced Budget that avoids the problems of the previous government, which “got itself into trouble with unfunded promises”. To satisfy the chancellor’s [...]
George Osborne likes to think the unthinkable: Now he should abolish the Budget March 16, 2015 It’s a well-known saying that “turkeys don’t vote for Christmas”. So calling for George Osborne to take to the despatch box tomorrow and announce that he’s abolishing future Budgets – in turn, greatly diminishing the Treasury’s power – might seem a fanciful plea. In truth, it’s about as likely as Ed Miliband offering journalists the [...]
George Osborne Budget 2015: Here’s everything we already know March 16, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne is busily putting the finishing touches to his final Budget speech for this parliament, and while he's been keen to stress fiscal constraints mean it's going to be rather light on the ground, here's a quick round-up of what people think he'll pull out of the red box tomorrow: "No giveaways, no [...]
Retailers call on rates review to save the high street March 16, 2015 Retailers today called for a radical shake-up of the UK’s 400 year-old business rates system and for greater support of the ailing high street as the government launches its biggest review into the controversial tax “in a generation”. Business rates, which are charged on commercial properties including shops and warehouses, deliver around £25bn to the [...]
Budget 2015: New pensions changes to allow savers to cash in annuities March 16, 2015 George Osborne’s crunch pre-election Budget will give savers who already own an annuity the power to cash it out. This new loosening of pensions rules builds on changes in last year’s Budget, and was confirmed by the Treasury yesterday. The Treasury says that it will give greater flexibility to five million pensioners who already own [...]
Should chancellor George Osborne use the Budget to deliver a pre-election giveaway? March 15, 2015 John Longworth, director-general at the British Chambers of Commerce, says Yes. The current situation in the UK lends itself well to the chancellor being able to deliver a pre-election giveaway. Public finances have improved in recent months, the outlook for the economy is relatively positive, as highlighted in our recent economic forecast, and the OBR [...]