From Jaffa Cakes to National Insurance: How to fix Britain’s mad tax system – according to the experts Tax In its latest report, the OECD scolded the UK for its illogical and growth-impeding tax system. Ali Lyon speaks to five tax experts to work out how to fix it. Potato crisps and their corn chip cousins are – as indulgent savoury snacks go – undeniably similar. They taste alike and are a similar size. [...]
National insurance and business rate hikes double fault for Queen’s Club profits Sport Business Business rate hikes and increases to employer national insurance have seen profits at Queen’s Club slump by nearly 20 per cent. Hosts of the HSBC Championships – dubbed the precursor to Wimbledon – saw profits before tax fall by 17.2 per cent to £1.96m, down from £2.37m the previous year, on increased revenues of £15.5m. [...]
OpenAI calls for ‘tax on automated labour’ as it sounds alarm on economic risks Economics OpenAI has called for a tax on automated labour as the firm laid bare the scale of the structural risks to the global economy that could be wrought by the rise in artificial intelligence. In a wide-ranging set of proposals in a paper described as “Industrial Policy for the Intelligence Age”, the ChatGPT maker called [...]
More harm than good? Minimum wage hikes kick in from April March 31, 2026 With April approaching plenty of conversations have focused on the end of the tax year, with people scrambling to utilise their ISA allowances, but the month also brings about a pay rise for millions of Brits – and increased costs for employers. The national minimum wage will increase from 1 April, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves [...]
Being an MP is a miserable job – but why must they inflict it on the rest of us? March 26, 2026 With all the stress that comes with their own job, you'd think MPs would have more empathy for the rest of us, writes Emma Revell.
Blair think tank turns fire on Labour over wage hikes and tax squeeze March 1, 2026 Tony Blair’s think tank has published a critique of Labour’s economic strategy, warning that higher minimum wages, rising employers’ National Insurance and tougher workers’ rights risk choking off growth and pricing young people out of jobs. In a striking intervention from the former Labour prime minister’s own policy institute, the report deems the government’s labour [...]
Greene King weighs job cuts as pub sector braces for cost squeeze February 15, 2026 Greene King is preparing to cut around 100 roles as Britain’s second-largest pub operator reviews its cost base against a backdrop of rising taxes and mounting pressure across the hospitality sector. The brewer and pub group, which operates roughly 2,600 sites across the UK, is understood to be assessing changes to its head office and [...]
UK businesses turn to overseas talent and AI as Reeves’ taxes bite February 9, 2026 British businesses are facing a “trade off” as rising costs for employers push firms into investing in overseas talent and leveraging AI. Whilst businesses are ditching the “wait-and-see” approach that engulfed firms amidst the tax uncertainty ahead of November’s Budget, this has not translated into a hiring upswing, the latest KPMG and REC jobs report [...]
Urban Pubs and Bars defies hospitality gloom with doubling of profit February 2, 2026 One of London’s biggest pub chains has defied hospitality gloom after posting a more than doubling of profit. Urban Pubs and Bars, which operates more than fifty venues across the capital including The Wren in Bank, the Commercial Tavern in Spitalfields and the Punch Tavern in Fleet Street, saw pre-trax profit climb to £1.7m for [...]
Revolution Bars owner appoints administrators as hospitality crisis deepens January 26, 2026 Dozens of bars up and down the country could soon shut their doors for the last time as one of Britain’s best-known hospitality groups prepares to appoint administrators. Revel Collective, which owns more than sixty venues comprising the Revolution Bars group as well as the Peach pub chain, said it expects to appoint administrators within [...]