Property taxes send UK to ‘second-bottom’ of global rankings October 20, 2025 The UK is second-bottom of global competitiveness rankings for property taxes, fresh analysis has shown, undermining Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ ambition to “back the builders, not the blockers”. The Tax Foundation’s International Tax Competitiveness Index placed the UK at 32nd out of 38 in a damning indictment of HMRC’s complicated rules and a higher burden preventing [...]
Autumn Budget: Reeves must focus on growth, not ‘gimmicks’ October 16, 2025 Ahead of the Autumn Budget, City Reporter Samuel Norman sits down with top industry names for a Budget Briefing. This week, the chief executive of founders club Helm calls for bold innovation policies took take centre stage. Chancellor Rachel Reeves should use her second Autumn Budget to make bolder swings for the UK’s innovation economy [...]
The Debate: Should we abolish stamp duty for primary homes? October 15, 2025 Kemi Badenoch's promise to abolish stamp duty was met with cheers by the Conservatives, but is it actually a good idea?
A harmful budget risks shattering IPO revival, Cavendish chief warns October 13, 2025 The boss of a London-listed investment bank has warned Rachel Reeves must be “careful” her budget policies do not damage the recuperating IPO market. Speaking to City AM at City & Financial Global’s Capital Markets Summit, Julian Morse, chief executive of Cavendish, said: “The main driver [of the IPO market] is the economy, so if [...]
Don’t stop at housing, abolish stamp duty on shares too October 10, 2025 Abolishing stamp duty on housing would be a bold step towards economic renewal. But don't stop there, says Blake Stephenson.
Take it from someone homeless, cutting stamp duty will improve lives October 9, 2025 The Conservatives will make homeownership easier, but we must make it easier to build too, says Laurence Fredricks I am a senior researcher at Onward, leading our work on housing policy, and a Policy Fellow at Conservative YIMBY. But as a consequence of London’s housing affordability and availability problem, I am also homeless. Months of [...]
Autumn Budget: ‘Window is closing’ on Labour’s growth mission October 9, 2025 Ahead of the Autumn Budget, City Reporter Samuel Norman sits down with top industry names for a Budget Briefing. This week, chief executive of BusinessLDN shares what he thinks could be the capital’s 21st century moment. The “window is closing” on the government’s mission to achieve economic growth, the boss of London’s business advocacy group [...]
Nine in ten investors would back UK stocks if stamp duty scrapped October 9, 2025 Rachel Reeves is facing renewed calls to scrap stamp duty in a bid to boost the City’s market attractiveness on the global stage. Almost nine in ten UK retail investors said they would hike their investment in the country’s stocks if the levy – often dubbed a ‘shares tax’ – was scrapped, according to fresh [...]
Kemi gets the stamp of approval, but for how long? October 8, 2025 Kemi Badenoch’s speech at Conservative Party Conference was a vital moment to reset her leadership and reclaim her party’s mantle as the party of business. She rose to it, says Alys Denby One of the chief joys of Conservative Party Conference is being denounced as “Tory scum” by a protester standing outside in the rain. [...]
Kemi Badenoch pledges to abolish stamp duty October 8, 2025 Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has pledged to abolish stamp duty on primary residences to help support people moving into their first home as she centred her speech on backing people wishing to “get ahead in life”. In a speech delivered to Conservative Party members at its Manchester conference, Badenoch said the Tories would cut stamp [...]