US tariffs: Trade secretary won’t rule out cuts to digital services tax March 27, 2025 Jonathan Reynolds has refused to rule out cutting the digital services tax on major tech firms, amid the prospect of looming US trade tariffs. The business and trade secretary insisted the UK government was “committed to ensuring tech companies pay a fair amount of tax in the UK”, but added that the digital services tax [...]
Spring Statement: Watch out for income tax hikes in the autumn March 27, 2025 The Spring Statement has done little to reassure markets about the Chancellor’s commitment to fiscal discipline, says Aviva’s Vasileios Gkionakis The UK government on Wednesday announced cuts in government spending to rebuild ‘fiscal headroom’ after rising government borrowing costs and anaemic economic growth badly damaged its finances. Chancellor Rachel Reeves says the mix of cuts [...]
Reeves ‘lost gamble’ and is likely to raise taxes, IFS claims March 27, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves is “likely” to raise taxes at this year’s Autumn Budget, Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) director Paul Johnson has warned, as he claimed an extension to income tax thresholds would make for the “easiest political win”. Reeves’ announced her £40bn tax raid at the last Autumn Budget in October. The bulk of [...]
US tariffs: Reynolds urges ‘cool heads’ over trade negotiations March 27, 2025 Jonathan Reynolds has said it is a time for “cool heads” as the UK engages with the US over tariff plans despite holding a “different set of views” on trade policy. It comes after Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the UK is not planning “at the moment” to introduce retaliatory tariffs on the US, after President [...]
Week in Business: Trump’s tariffs add insult to injury after Spring Statement March 27, 2025 City AM Editor Christian May casts his eye over the Chancellor's Spring Statement and asks whether Donald Trump has just derailed her agenda.
UK won’t be ‘pressured’ to scrap digital services tax, says Reeves March 27, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has insisted that Britain “won’t be pressured” into scrapping its digital services tax (DST), despite mounting pressure from the US. Despite her strong stance, Reeves did not make any formal announcements about the future of the DST in her Spring Statement. Yet, hot on the heels of her speech, she told The [...]
Spring Statement 2025: Labour MP warns of ‘mother of all rebellions’ March 27, 2025 A Labour MP have warned that Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves could face the “mother of all rebellions” over welfare policy.
A ‘do nothing’ Spring Statement means Autumn Budget will be a bloodbath March 27, 2025 The Chancellor has shied away from tackling the big challenges our economy faces, meaning pressure for tax rises in the Autumn will only increase, says Robert Salter The autumn budget might be a bloodbath in terms of tax as the government runs out of money and the triple lock could be broken. As promised, the [...]
UK car output dips as Trump auto tariffs loom March 27, 2025 Production of cars and commercial vehicles saw an alarming 11.6 per cent decline in February, according to new data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Just 82,178 vehicles were produced – a drop of 10,787 from February 2024 – in the 12th consecutive month of falling auto manufacturing output. There was a [...]
Rachel Reeves criticises deputy for ‘clumsy’ pocket money comments March 27, 2025 Rachel Reeves has criticised her deputy – Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones – for “clumsy” comments in which he compared slashing disability benefits to taking away a child’s pocket money. The Chancellor told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme: “No, he was clumsy in his analogy, and he’s apologised for that.” She added: “Of [...]