UK economy contracts 0.1 per cent in blow to Rachel Reeves July 11, 2025 Rachel Reeves’ waning growth agenda has been dealt another blow after the UK economy contracted 0.1 per cent in May. The Chancellor has endured a bruising few weeks after government U-turns and spending splurges have cut into the fiscal headroom she outlined in the Autumn. Fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics have confirmed [...]
Week in Business: The tragedy of Labour’s tax addiction July 10, 2025 From the housing market to the stock exchange, some taxes need to be reformed or reduced - but this government only wants to hike rates.
Labour’s tax addiction will end in tears July 10, 2025 It is now pretty much universally accepted that the government will launch a fresh tax raid in October’s budget. City economists expect the Treasury to be on the hunt for between £10bn and £20bn of additional revenue, though given the expensive u-turns on winter fuel payments and welfare reform combined with likely lower growth forecasts [...]
Reeves warns ministers tax rises are coming after loss of ‘low hanging fruit’ July 5, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has warned ministers that taxes will have to rise after the government U-turned on its welfare bill, despite repeated pledges not to increase the taxes of working people. Reeves told ministers on Tuesday that raising the tens of billions pounds she needs would be a “big challenge” given her lack of options, [...]
How much tax do you pay above £100k? Britain’s highest earners in numbers July 4, 2025 A growing number of Brits have seen their salaries hit £100k – but a growing number are also feeling underwhelmed after having crossed the threshold. What accounts for their disappointment? There were as many as 1.35m taxpayers earning over £100,000 in the UK during the 2022/23 tax year, an increase of around 16 per cent [...]
Reeves urged to unfreeze income tax or risk entrenched damage June 26, 2025 Rachel Reeves has been given another stark warning of the implications of extending the freeze on income tax thresholds. The Chancellor has vowed to not repeat the scale of tax rises in last year’s autumn Budget, but has not addressed whether she will stand by her promise to unfreeze income tax thresholds from 2028. Reeves [...]
Reeves’ spending spree could open £20bn gap – which taxes will rise? June 12, 2025 Rachel Reeves splashed the taxpayer cash in her inaugural Spending Review, raising expectations the Chancellor may be coming back for more tax revenue in the Autumn if her growth ambitions are not met. Reeves is set to hand out an extra £190bn in government spending over the course of the parliament, in what she described [...]
Voters fear Reeves tax U-turn after Spending Review splash out June 9, 2025 UK voters are worried Chancellor Rachel Reeves will betray Labour manifesto pledges not to hike income tax, a new poll has suggested, as the government looks set to ramp up investment at Wednesday’s spending review. Sir Keir Starmer has declared that the government cannot “tax [its] way to growth” while ministers have said the spending [...]
What is fiscal drag and how you can avoid it? June 6, 2025 Millions more people will find themselves paying higher income tax due to frozen tax thresholds, but there are ways to prepare. Around 8.3m people will be paying more tax by 2029, a forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility shows. This phenomenon is known as fiscal drag. Fiscal drag occurs when earnings rise but tax [...]
Which taxes could Rachel Reeves raise in the Autumn Budget May 29, 2025 Rising borrowing costs, u-turns on spending cuts and a wafer-thin fiscal headroom all point to one thing: Chancellor Rachel Reeves is widely expected to put up taxes later in the year. But given Labour’s manifesto commitment to avoid tax rises on “working people”, and the pain felt by businesses over National Insurance hikes, many are [...]