The madness of a state that spends more on welfare than it raises from income tax April 7, 2026 If it were possible to buy Happy New Tax Year cards you’d surely find them stocked in the ‘With Sympathy’ section. As of yesterday, the state has increased its demands on a host of taxpayers. Dividend tax is up two per cent for basic and higher rate taxpayers, with the latter now hit by a [...]
OpenAI calls for ‘tax on automated labour’ as it sounds alarm on economic risks April 7, 2026 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 [...]
‘A whole civilisation will die tonight’: Trump ramps up Iran threats as deadline draws nearer April 7, 2026 Donald Trump has dialled up his threats on Iran warning a “whole civilisation will die tonight” ahead of his latest looming deadline for Iran. The chaotic sentiment has rocked markets across Europe after indexes struggled to find direction during early trading. The FTSE 100 see-sawed between gains and losses as the City market returned from [...]
14 charts reveal the massive challenges facing UK and NATO defence spending April 7, 2026 Defence spending is casting a shadow over Downing Street. Military officers are in a state of despair. The choices facing Sir Keir Starmer are stark. The political calculus for the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has become more complicated than ever as the Iran war puts public finances in danger. Their difficulties go back to February 2025 [...]
The 2026 tax year has started. Here’s what you need to know April 6, 2026 The tax year countdown has officially ended and a new year has begun on 6 April, bringing with it an ISA allowance reset and silent tax hikes. While many investors and savers will be breathing a sigh of relief, thinking they have completed their financial admin for at least a few months, being proactive at [...]
Tax instability drives ultra-wealthy to pack their bags April 2, 2026 Tax instability has driven huge swathes of the UK’s ultra-wealthy to consider leaving the country over the past twelve months. Two-thirds of the UK’s wealthiest have mulled fleeing the country for tax reasons, according to the latest research from accountancy firm BDO. But while conversations surrounding tax have focused on the rate Britain’s wealthiest pay, [...]
‘Ridiculous’: Torsten Bell under fire over pension schemes bill April 2, 2026 London’s pension industry is in uproar over government proposals to keep what is known as ‘backstop power’ over the precise level of investment from funds in specific UK assets. Torsten Bell, the pensions minister, has become the focus of anger at Whitehall’s attempts to exert a degree of control over where some of the biggest [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Dow Jones joins City in red; Oil soars on Iran war fears April 2, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. After a dose of optimism hit markets on Wednesday, that looks to all be eradicated come this morning. In a 19-minute long address to the nation, Donald Trump vowed to “finish the job” in Iran and warned the country would be hit “extremely hard” in [...]
UK banks blast regulations for ‘penalising’ good risk management April 2, 2026 Top lenders have laid bare their frustrations with UK banking regulation in a bombshell new report that urges the removal of “excessive conservatism”. In response to the Bank of England’s review of capital requirements, the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) – which represents over 150 global banks, including the UK’s Big Four – [...]
Supermarket bosses meet Rachel Reeves amid dire food inflation warning April 1, 2026 The bosses of some of the UK’s biggest supermarkets met Chancellor Rachel Reeves in emergency cost of living talks on Wednesday, amid warnings that food inflation could rise to double digits this year. Leading supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons attended Downing Street after efforts to gather industry bosses last week were abandoned amid concerns [...]