What does the chancellor’s Budget mean for you? From the single parent to the startup founder March 18, 2015 THE SINGLE PARENT Catherine Gannon, 51Managing partner at law firm Gannons Gannons Commercial Law continues to do well, with profits and earnings up on last year. Catherine is commercially savvy and has restructured the business from an LLP to a limited company, illustrating that she is a smart operator in a segmented legal market. [...]
Budget 2015: George Osborne plays to the crowd with a populist plan March 18, 2015 Despite the chancellor promising not to pull a rabbit from the hat, there were in fact plenty of Budget bunnies to be seen this year. With the UK now growing ahead of its major international competitors and an General Election coming up so soon, it’s clear that George Osborne felt confident enough to splash out [...]
Small beer Budget: George Osborne deserves credit for holding back on the bribery March 18, 2015 We should “choose the future” George Osborne insisted yesterday, in what may yet turn out to be his final Budget. But in truth, he spent much of his time focusing on the recent past. Employment has been buoyant and now stands at a record high. Those who predicted that spending constraint would lead to an [...]
Budget 2015: George Osborne’s plans depend on strong growth – let’s hope it actually materialises March 18, 2015 George Osborne used the opportunity of the last Budget before the election to set out his manifesto. The Budget was based on “growth and investment”, he claimed, and he promised an end to austerity towards the end of the next Parliament, defined entirely as a promise to start expanding government spending again by 2019. The [...]
Why the public finances may improve even faster than the Budget forecasts March 18, 2015 The chancellor delivered an astute Budget yesterday. Some politically safe revenue raising measures (a raid on the banks, a further crackdown on tax avoidance and evasion, and a reduction in the lifetime allowance for pensions) raised enough money to pay for some politically popular giveaways: an increase in personal income tax allowances, a new tax [...]
Was George Osborne’s last Budget before the General Election a winner for British savers? March 18, 2015 Iain McCluskey, tax director at PwC, says Yes This was a Budget for those who choose to, in George speak, fix their roof. With returns on savings sitting at miserable lows for most people, the chancellor had to innovate to try and encourage the country to save. He did this by using the Budget to [...]
Budget 2015 summary: Here are all the personal finance pledges George Osborne made today March 18, 2015 There were the usual tears and tantrums as chancellor George Osborne stepped up to the despatch box earlier today, to deliver a Budget speech geared largely towards savers, pensioners and first-time buyers. In the end, it was the "savings revolution" that made the headlines – with new rules on Isas and savings among a raft [...]
Budget 2015 Beer duty calculator: How much tax will you save on a pint this year after Osborne’s 1p cut? March 18, 2015 Penny off a pint? George Osborne knows how to keep the pub-going public happy. For the third year in a row, the chancellor has cut beer duty, keeping the good times rolling for the pub industry. A single penny cut may not sound much, but breweries and pubs are toasting the news. Along with the [...]
Budget 2015 interactive: Friends of the north? Unemployment mapped in every constituency March 18, 2015 On budget day, George Osborne offered a hand to the north of England. The Conservative party would, he said, build a Northern powerhouse, and, in fact they had already started. Employment and jobs the chancellor added, have grown faster in the north of England than the south. ONS tables comparing the three months to the [...]
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 [...]