Torsten Bell: Who is the mastermind behind the 2025 Autumn Budget? August 28, 2025 When parliamentary candidates were revealed ahead of last year’s elections, Torsten Bell was one of the better-known names on Labour’s list. With his glaringly wonkish CV and swaggering way of talking up esoteric economic policies, he seemed primed to one day leave his mark on a Budget. According to the New Statesman, his opportunity to [...]
Thousands of pensioners overcharged £10,000 on pension withdrawals August 25, 2025 Thousands of pensioners have claimed back more than £10,000 after being overcharged tax on their pension withdrawals, new analysis shows. A handful of people in the UK were given a refund worth more than £100,000. The HMRC figures, which were obtained by Royal London through a freedom of information (FOI) request, show an increase in [...]
Week in Business: Will Reeves Launch a Massive Tax Raid on Property and Pensions? August 21, 2025 Christian May interrupts your holiday with grim news on another punishing round of tax hikes coming in the Autumn.
Rumoured changes to inheritance tax gifting spark concern for middle-class August 15, 2025 Reeves is looking at measures to increase revenue from inheritance tax by tightening gift rules, a move that may disproportionately affect the middle class.
Inheritance tax crackdown will not spark family farm firesale, study finds August 14, 2025 Most farmers will be able to shoulder the inheritance tax bill foisted on them by the Treasury at last autumn’s Budget without having to sell their family farm, according to a fresh analysis which also proposed new ways the reforms could be “better targeted.” The paper, from independent tax think tank the Centre for the [...]
Labour warned tightening inheritance tax would ‘stymie growth’ August 13, 2025 Plans to tighten inheritance tax rules on gifting and passing assets on to family members before death would damage UK growth and could lead to “regret” within the government, Labour has been warned. Treasury officials are reportedly considering changing rules which allow Brits to pass on assets to younger family members over seven years before [...]
Inheritance tax: Reeves could change thresholds and crack down on gift rules August 13, 2025 Rachel Reeves is exploring measures to extract more revenue from inheritance tax (IHT) ahead of the Autumn Budget, as she looks to plug a massive fiscal blackhole without breaking Labour election promises on tax. According to a report in The Guardian, the Treasury is looking into changes to thresholds as well as tightening the rules [...]
Rich parents fear children will squander inheritance August 6, 2025 An increasing number of high-net-worth parents are worried that leaving too much money to their children will be a “curse on their lives” and are turning to charity donations to avoid handing large sums down the generations. According to a fresh poll, three quarters of parents with a net worth of £3m or more believe [...]
Generational wealth gap fuels spike in family feuds over wills August 5, 2025 Feuds over family inheritance are on the rise as the number of applications lodged to challenge probates has reached an all-time high in the final quarter of 2024
Reeves’ non-dom crackdown is unwittingly driving rich Brits away too August 4, 2025 The hordes of wealthy foreigners leaving Britain to escape the government’s non-dom crackdown are being joined by high-net-worth Brits capitalising on an arcane element of the policy that has made it easier for them to avoid paying inheritance tax (IHT). Several wealth advisers and tax lawyers have reported a “second wave of interest” from middle-aged [...]