Business confidence hits ‘record low’ as Reeves slammed over taxes August 1, 2025 Business directors’ confidence in the UK economy has plunged to an all-time low, with firms unconvinced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ growth-focussed policies as the impact of last year’s tax hikes continues to play out. Keir Starmer has repeatedly told MPs business confidence is at a nine-year high, pointing to a single business survey put together [...]
UK should introduce its own ‘Trump card’ to woo back the wealthy August 1, 2025 To address the UK’s fiscal challenges and reverse capital flight, Rachel Reeves’ government should implement creative, pro-investment policies, such as reforming non-dom rules and reintroducing an investor visa, rather than pursuing punitive tax measures, says Brandon Lewis Rachel Reeves’ recent Mansion House speech was full of assurances that she would neither bend nor break in [...]
Week in Business: Is it time to leave the country? July 31, 2025 Facing low growth and high taxes, more and more of my friends are having the same conversation, for the same reasons.
Inheritance tax nets record £6.7bn before Budget raid July 31, 2025 The Exchequer raked in a record £6.7bn in inheritance tax between 2022 and 2023, as a longstanding freeze on the tax-free threshold and ballooning asset prices meant more estates were sucked in to paying the unpopular levy. The overall earnings from inheritance tax rose by over £700m in the tax year 2022/3, official data showed, [...]
Investors put off by complicated wealth management tools July 31, 2025 Half of people who want help investing, feel “dissatisfied” with traditional wealth management tools, believing them to be too expensive or complex, a new survey has found. Two thirds of UK investors believe not enough people invest due to being unable to use complicated wealth management tools, according to research from wealth management platform Stratiphy. [...]
Rachel Reeves could use bank windfall tax to plug Labour’s U-turns July 31, 2025 Rachel Reeves could launch a fresh tax grab on banks to plug the spending holes left by Labour’s recent U-turns, new analysis has found. The Chancellor is poised to hike taxes in the Autumn Budget after a series of government policy switches eroded her already wafer-thin fiscal headroom of £9.9bn. This comes as fresh research [...]
Firms face fresh fines for making late payments to small businesses July 31, 2025 Firms could be slapped with million-pound fines for late payments to small businesses in a new government effort to boost growth in local economies. As part of reforms aimed at supporting businesses with fewer than 50 employees, Keir Starmer has vowed to crack down on delayed payments “holding Britain back”. The Prime Minister said the [...]
Banks back in crosshairs as Labour eyes tax hikes July 31, 2025 George Osborne’s likely payday from the sale of Robey Warshaw to US giant Evercore won’t be the first time he’s extracted money from the banking sector. In his inaugural 2010 Budget he announced a UK bank levy of 0.05 per cent on certain bank liabilities. Conceived in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the [...]
Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget still causing negativity – CBI July 30, 2025 A streak of negative business sentiment has now lasted 10 months, a leading industry body has suggested, in further evidence that employers have struggled to turn a page on Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ £40bn tax raid at last year’s Autumn Budget. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has repeatedly told MPs that business confidence was edging higher, [...]
HSBC boss: Rachel Reeves hiking bank tax would dent growth July 30, 2025 The boss of FTSE 100 juggernaut HSBC has become the latest banking voice to warn Rachel Reeves against raising taxes on banks over fears it would harm economic growth. Georges Elhedery, HSBC’s chief executive, said on Wednesday any further financial pressures on lenders could spark trouble for the UK economy. “Additional taxation on banks runs [...]