Banks raise the alarm over £100 contactless payment limit March 2, 2021 Major UK banks are said to have raised concerns over an increase in the contactless payment limit to £100 due to the growing risk of fraud. In his Budget tomorrow chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to hike the cap on contactless spending from its current limit of £45. But a string of high street lenders [...]
Budget 2021: Philip Hammond tells Boris Johnson to ditch big infrastructure projects March 2, 2021 Former chancellor Lord Philip Hammond has told Boris Johnson to ditch his plans for big infrastructure projects in the North, with the UK facing its largest ever Budget deficit. Hammond said today that a better way to enact Johnson’s “levelling up” agenda was for more devolution to regions, while also calling for tax rises and [...]
Budget 2021: Tax hikes are the same as austerity and will spell Rishi Sunak’s downfall March 2, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s budget marks the beginning of a damaging era of austerity that risks crushing Britain’s economic recovery. While other countries are trying to jumpstart their economies, Rishi is expected to ratchet up income and corporate taxes to address the mounting deficit. The Chancellor is right that Britain’s fiscal position is not sustainable. It [...]
Budget 2021: The long road to recovery March 2, 2021 With government borrowing set to top £300bn this fiscal year, there have been calls in some parts for Chancellor Rishi Sunak to start looking at measures to try and plug the gap between spending and tax revenue. While this is understandable given the size of the deficit, as well as the increase in national debt, [...]
Budget 2021: Kwasi Kwarteng all but confirms furlough extension March 2, 2021 Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has appeared to confirm that Rishi Sunak will extend the furlough scheme in tomorrow’s Budget. Kwarteng said today that it was a “fairly good assumption” that the scheme will be extended beyond next month by the chancellor. The scheme – which sees the government part-subsidise people’s wages – is due to [...]
Budget: What should Rishi Sunak prioritise to boost UK manufacturing? March 2, 2021 | City Talk Government borrowing has now exceeded £270bn in this financial year, according to the Office for National Statistics. While under normal circumstances, this may have raised some eyebrows, we are still operating in unprecedented times. Despite the significant COVID-19 relief bill, further investment stimulus is required, and the UK manufacturing sector will be hoping this is [...]
Budget 2021: Sunak to outline post-Brexit regulatory shakeup for the City of London March 2, 2021 Rishi Sunak will outline plans to improve the City of London’s post-Brexit competitiveness in tomorrow’s Budget as he releases a highly anticipated report from the UK’s former EU commissioner for financial services. Sunak is planning to create a new stock listings regime in London to compete with other global financial centres that have benefited from [...]
Budget 2021: Rishi Sunak to unveil £400m boost for culture and arts March 2, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak will this week provide additional support for Britain’s ailing arts and culture sector as businesses prepare for reopenings in the coming months. In his Budget tomorrow, the chancellor will pledge £408m for museums, theatres and galleries to help them survive until the end of lockdown. Under the government’s plan for lifting coronavirus [...]
Budget 2021: Sunak to announce £520m scheme to provide training for SMEs March 2, 2021 Rishi Sunak will announce a £520m scheme in Wednesday’s Budget to help provide MBA-style management training to up to 130,0000 British small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The new Help to Grow scheme will see the government pay UK business schools to provide 50 hours of free tuition to SMEs over twelve weeks, with with [...]
Rishi Sunak’s choices: The taxes that may define this year’s Budget March 1, 2021 It is becoming increasingly clear tax hikes are firmly on the Chancellor’s agenda this week, as Rishi Sunak has hinted that he will raise some in the Budget on Wednesday. He is reportedly keen to “level” with people about the fiscal challenges to come. The Chancellor’s primary objective will continue for to be supporting the [...]