‘Absurd’: Pension savers refunded £188m after HMRC overtaxes withdrawals October 16, 2026 Tens of thousands of taxpayers were handed money back from HMRC last year after savers had too much tax deducted from their pension withdrawals, City AM can reveal. HMRC processed 54,166 pension withdrawal repayments in the 2025/26 financial year, worth around £188m, according to figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request. During the financial [...]
IMF boss warns on AI ‘tax erosion’ if jobs are wiped out October 15, 2026 The head of the International Monetary Fund has warned financial ministers that widespread AI adoption could erode tax bases across the world as incomes are squeezed by the technology. Kristalina Georgieva, the managing director of the IMF, said governments may be ill-prepared for a potential slump in tax revenue brought on by AI’s impact on [...]
Healey promises Budget will ‘meet the moment’ October 15, 2026 Chancellor John Healey has promised that the Budget will “meet the moment” as rising costs are set to hamper households and businesses over the next few months. In interviews in Bangkok for the International Monetary Fund’s meetings, Healey said he had acted from “week one” to relieve pressures facing businesses and households with a blitz [...]
‘Nothing can stop it’ – The state expands like the horror film Blob October 15, 2026 The 1958 classic horror film The Blob scored mixed reviews on its release, with critics lamenting the poor acting and weak dialogue. Posters for the movie warned that the alien blob “devours everything in its path” and “nothing can stop it” – which is why, half a century later, Michael Gove resurrected and popularised the [...]
Tories to warn Burnham on ‘bending to left’ on bank tax raid October 14, 2026 Kemi Badenoch is expected to fire a bank tax warning shot to the Labour government on Thursday during a visit to Edinburgh. The Conservatives will warn Andy Burnham against “bending the knee to left-wing backbenchers and trade union paymasters,” as the pre-Budget debate heats up. It follows the banking sector swinging into defence mode ahead [...]
Business feels ‘beaten up’, Burnham ally says October 14, 2026 Lord Jim O’Neill, one of Andy Burnham’s closest allies, has warned businesses feel “beaten up” by government as he urged the Prime Minister to spare British companies from another punishing raid at the Budget. Speaking to a group of MPs at the Treasury Select Committee, O’Neill doubled down on his opposition to capital gains tax [...]
UK state growing at faster pace than France after spending splurge and tax hikes October 14, 2026 The size of the British state is growing by a larger amount than any other G7 nation apart from Germany since the pandemic in 2020, figures on government spending from the International Monetary Fund have shown. The IMF’s latest report on countries’ fiscal outlook shows that UK government spending is set to rise by 5.2 [...]
Dan Neidle: too many of our taxes make no sense October 14, 2026 We spend a lot of time talking about tax as a revenue raiser and far less time asking whether the taxes themselves make any economic sense. We rarely think seriously about how the design of the tax system itself can encourage or inhibit growth, says Dan Neidle Britain’s demographics are brutal. Spending on health and [...]
Exclusive: Healey looks to lower business costs of hiring young people October 14, 2026 Chancellor John Healey is drawing up measures to slash the cost of hiring under-25-year-olds at the Budget, City AM understands, as the government looks to tackle the crisis of youth unemployment and ease pressures facing businesses. A move to tackle the number of young people not in employment, education or training (Neets) by reducing hiring [...]
Big Four giant Deloitte accused of faking paperwork to hide Roman Abramovich wealth October 12, 2026 The Cyprus branch of Big Four giant Deloitte and its spin-off are alleged to have falsified corporate paperwork to protect former Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich’s assets before the UK government sanctioned him. According to a joint investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) and BBC Panorama, it is alleged that accounts signed off [...]