Budget 2015: Who were the winners and losers? March 18, 2015 Winners Pubs and drinkersThe Budget will be a boon for the country's pubs, bars and restaurants, as well the drinkers who frequent them. Beer duty was cut buy one penny per pint while duty on both cider and whisky received a two per cent cut. Meanwhile, the tax on wine and tobacco will also be [...]
Budget 2015: Osborne’s two kitchens joke just cost bookies with biggest ever Budget buzzword bingo bet payout March 18, 2015 Everyone loves playing a bit of buzzword bingo on Budget day – except for bookies this year. Punters are the first big winners of Osborne’s pre-election giveaway and Ladbrokes the losers, as the bookies is having to make its largest ever payout on Budget buzzword bets. Osborne’s gag about two kitchens – referencing an Ed [...]
Budget 2015: Here’s why the Help to Buy Isa is a terrible idea March 18, 2015 One of the more eye-catching announcements in George Osborne's Budget was the unveiling of a "Help to Buy" Isa. Not leaked beforehand, Osborne said first-time buyers will receive a helping hand from the government to get on the property ladder. For every £200 saved by first-time buyers, the taxpayer will chip in another £50. Those who [...]
Budget 2015: How does the first time buyer Help-to-Buy Isa work? Here’s everything you need to know March 18, 2015 Poor saving returns, slow wage growth, and high house prices make getting on to the property ladder tricky. But there's finally some good news for prospective first time buyers, in the form of a "Help to Buy Isa" (Help-to-Buy-sa?), announced by the chancellor today. But how does it work? For every £200 an individual squirrels [...]
Budget 2015: “Saving revolution” as Osborne pledges first-time buyer Isa March 18, 2015 George Osborne unveiled a Budget aimed at helping savers, first time buyers and pensioners today, with measures including a "Help to Buy Isa". Under the new rules, the government will contribute £50 for each £200 saved by first-time buyers. Savers who put away £12,000 could stand to make as much as £3,000 Just before he [...]
Budget 2015: City hit by Google tax and bank levy hike March 18, 2015 The government's bank levy will be increased by 0.21 per cent, in an effort to raise £900m, the chancellor announced today. The measures were being taken so banks "make a bigger contribution to the repair of our public finances", George Osborne said during his Budget speech. Lenders will also be prevented from offsetting PPI compensation [...]
Budget 2015: The stories that broke during George Osborne’s speech March 18, 2015 The announcement of the UK government’s annual budget is one of the biggest dates in the financial calendar. City hacks' ears were tuned into George Osborne’s speech this lunchtime, as eyes were glued to Twitter for all the breaking hot takes on the chancellor’s tie colour and fingers were madly typing away to produce a [...]
Budget 2015 summary: Analysts, economists and think tanks give their verdict on Osborne March 18, 2015 George Osborne delivered a Budget stacked with facts, figures and policies intended to ward off Labour's cost of living offensive and get the electorate on side before May the reactions are already flooding in. Here is a sampling of analysts' reactions to the final set-piece event of the coalition government. BNP Paribas' Dominic Bryant gives [...]
Budget 2015: No more paper tax returns, but how will the new digital system work? March 18, 2015 Could the best thing from the 2015 Budget be the end of tax returns as we know them? In an announcement that had taxes as a central theme, George Osborne announced a new, digitised tax-returns system. From early 2016, gone will be the days of wading through paper tax returns – instead HM Revenue and [...]
FTSE 100 market report: Budget goodies lift oil majors March 18, 2015 Britain's blue-chip index was 0.1 per cent higher this lunchtime as investors digested the chancellor's budget. Chancellor George Osborne unveiled £1.3bn additional support for the struggling north sea oil and gas industry. He said the Office for Budget Responsibility predicts this will boost production by around 15 per cent. Crumbling oil prices have made a [...]