Swatch: Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes could see profit fall further July 16, 2025 Swiss watch brand Swatch has warned its UK profit could continue to shrink as a result of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes. The business has said the increase in employer’s National Insurance contributions – which were announced in October 2024 and came into effect in April this year – will increase operational costs. Swatch added [...]
Minister says only ‘average incomes’ up to £39k safe from Reeves’ tax hikes July 15, 2025 A government minister has said that Labour will stick to its manifesto commitment not to raise personal taxes, at least for those on “average incomes” – earning up to £39,000. Successive ministers over multiple days of media rounds have been caught in an increasingly tangled mess of definitions of what it means to be “wealthy”, [...]
Treasury minister Darren Jones struggles to define ‘modest income’ July 14, 2025 Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones says Labour’s “working people” tax pledge refers to “anyone that gets a payslip, basically”. Rachel Reeves’ deputy was asked across multiple interviews on Monday morning to clarify who exactly would be shielded from tax hikes, and whether Labour’s pre-election promises not to raise levies on “working people” will [...]
London hiring plunges as Rachel Reeves’ tax grab weighs July 14, 2025 London hiring has suffered a steep drop as rising costs weigh on employers following Rachel Reeves’ tax grab. Permanent staff places in the capital – hires with no fixed end date – fell at the sharpest rate in 22 months in June. Meanwhile, temporary bills, which track the total income recruitment agencies earn from placing [...]
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 [...]
Fintech leads surge in London finance hiring July 10, 2025 Fintech helped lead roaring growth in London’s finance hiring for the second quarter of the year as demand for risk professionals surged amid a more moribund jobs market for traditional lenders. New financial services jobs vacancies rose three per cent quarter-on-quarter, according to Morgan McKinley’s London Employment Monitor while Greater London fintech hiring is expected [...]
Rachel Reeves warned against piling on small business tax pain July 8, 2025 As Rachel Reeves circles new avenues to boost tax receipts, the Chancellor has faced a fresh warning to ease the pain for small businesses. Businesses have called for Reeves to reverse her Autumn Budget tax hikes and ease the burden for firms as they suffer the crunch of economic uncertainty. One in five small- and [...]
State pension could face insolvency by 2036 despite tax hikes July 6, 2025 Britain’s state pension could become financially unsustainable as early as 2036, despite recent increases in National Insurance contributions, according to new modelling by the Adam Smith Institute (ASI). The think tank warned the Treasury is on course to spend more on welfare payouts than it receives in National Insurance receipts within just over a decade. [...]
Hospitality jobs slump as Reeves’ National Insurance hike bites July 6, 2025 The UK hospitality industry has shed 69,000 jobs since chancellor Rachel Reeves’s rise in employers’ national insurance contributions took effect – a stark reversal from the 18,000 roles created in the same period last year under the previous government. The figures, sourced from the Office for National Statistics, or ONS, mark the steepest peacetime job [...]
Business confidence hit by tax fears as Rachel Reeves’ headroom crumbles July 2, 2025 British business confidence has been hammered by Labour’s tax blows but fears remain heightened the government will return for more. A survey by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) revealed 56 per cent of firms were particularly concerned about their tax burden, which comes as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer failed to rule out further [...]