Vast majority of Brits expect more damaging tax hikes in 2026 January 13, 2026 Nearly four in five Brits are bracing themselves for further tax rises this year, with voters fearing that more money going into government coffers will damage growth. Keir Starmer has kicked off the year with pitches on improving the cost of living for millions of people across the country. Extra welfare payments for some families [...]
Jamie Dimon warns markets are under-estimating global risks January 13, 2026 The boss of JP Morgan, Jamie Dimon, has warned global markets not to underestimate current risks, as the US banking giant hiked its provisions for bad loans. The world’s most influential banker said that whilst the US economy had remained “resilient” and consumer and business trends were “generally healthy,” ongoing risks persisted. “Markets seem to under-appreciate [...]
Turtle Bay: Founder criticises ‘unhelpful’ Reeves’ tax raid after huge loss January 13, 2026 Caribbean restaurant and bar chain Turtle Bay has hit out at the “unhelpful” Labour government whose tax “raid” contributed to it slumping into the red. The Bristol-headquartered business, which was set up in 2010 by Ajith Jaya-Wickrema and Stephen Entwistle, cited Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ increase in employers’ National Insurance as a reason for it falling to [...]
HENRYs set for further Budget blow as more dragged into £100K tax trap January 13, 2026 Thousands more UK workers are set to be pulled into the £100,000 tax trap as high earners brace for a further financial squeeze. The number of Brits earning six-figure salaries is set to surpass two million for the first time according to estimates from HMRC obtained by Rathbones, leaving more high earners to face the [...]
London families to shoulder nearly a quarter of all inheritance tax bills January 13, 2026 Families in London and the South East coughed up nearly half of all UK inheritance tax receipts, amid a continued climb in property prices. Londoners paid the greatest share of the unpopular levy, at 23 per cent, narrowly ahead of the South East at 22 per cent. This was followed by the South West, but [...]
Stride vows to protect OBR in new dividing line with Farage January 12, 2026 Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride has vowed to protect the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) in any future Conservative government, drawing a dividing line with Reform’s Nigel Farage on approaches to controlling public finances. Stride is expected to re-establish the Conservative Party’s firm commitment to maintaining the fiscal watchdog as an independent body scoring the effects [...]
Reeves’ VCT changes ‘could put start up funding at risk’ January 12, 2026 Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ shake-up of venture capital tax rules could leave UK start-ups facing a shortfall of millions in funding, a leading investment platform has warned. According to Wealth Club, the chancellor’s changes to venture capital trust tax relief in last year’s Autumn Budget could see British start-ups and scale-ups face a funding deficit of [...]
No growth expected for November due to late Budget January 12, 2026 New GDP figures this week will show zero growth in the UK economy as weeks of uncertainty around the Budget weighed down on activity in November, according to economists. A Bloomberg poll of economists predicted the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to write in zero GDP growth in the second last month of the year. [...]
Business confidence lowest in nearly five years, BDO says January 12, 2026 Business confidence fell to its lowest level in nearly five years, an advisory company indicated, as the Labour government is expected to oversee a small improvement in the UK economy this year. BDO’s optimism index, which tracks sentiment by surveying 4,000 executives, dropped to its weakest reading since January 2021 at the end of last [...]
Manufacturers warn UK faces ‘tipping point’ on competitiveness January 12, 2026 The Labour government has been handed a major warning over the future of the manufacturing industry as the sector battles rising costs and pressures to shift business to shift overseas. A fresh survey from the sector’s industry body Make UK showed senior executives in manufacturing firms feared cost pressures would soon reach a “tipping point”. [...]