Tax crackdown drives rise in compulsory liquidations August 19, 2025 Company directors are “feeling the impact” of HMRC’s crackdown on unpaid taxes as compulsory liquidations spiked by 11 per cent in the year to July 2025, official data has shown. More bosses wound up their businesses last month than had done so in June, with creditors’ voluntary liquidations still driving insolvencies across the UK. But [...]
Starling Bank snaps up UK fintech firm in small business push August 19, 2025 Starling Bank has snapped up its UK fintech peer Ember in a bid to ramp up its services for small business customers. The London-based firm said as part of the takeover, Ember’s tax and bookkeeping software will be built into Starling’s app and online bank. The deal, which Starling did not disclose the price of, [...]
Reeves mulls ‘punishingly high’ new property taxes August 18, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves is considering replacing stamp duty with a new national property tax on homes above £500,000, according to fresh reports. Senior ministers in the Treasury have been asked to study how a new “proportional” levy could be implemented and to model its impact ahead of potential tax changes in the Autumn Budget, The [...]
Tories: Reeves gambling tax hike raises risk of black market betting August 18, 2025 The Conservatives have warned of a rise in black market betting if Labour levies a tax on gamblers to fill Treasury coffers. The Government is increasingly looking like it will need to find tax rises to announce at Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ autumn Budget, with punters on the front line to be hit hard by No11. [...]
More than 200 pubs closed in six months amid tax hikes August 18, 2025 Eight pubs a week shut their doors for good across the UK over the first half of the year amid rising tax and labour costs, according to new figures. Industry bosses said it is “heartbreaking” and highlighted the need for supportive tax measures from the Treasury in the autumn budget. Official Government statistics show 209 [...]
Rachel Reeves to raise ‘stealth and sin’ taxes to cover black hole August 15, 2025 Rachel Reeves is set to hit British consumers with extra “sin taxes”, leading forecasters have predicted, which are widely seen as regressive taxes that could hit people on lower income. The Chancellor faces having to raise £20bn in taxes at this year’s Autumn Budget to restore her “already paltry” margin of £9.9bn in headroom, according [...]
Business investment falls as alarm bells rung on low productivity August 14, 2025 Business investment fell by four per cent in the second quarter of the year despite moderate growth of 0.3 per cent, official data has shown, as top economists are ringing alarm bells on low productivity levels across the UK economy. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said there was a dramatic fall in investment compared [...]
UK economy grows faster than expected in June August 14, 2025 The UK economy grew 0.4 per cent in June, official data has shown, in an unexpected turnaround following months of tariff and tax uncertainty. In the second quarter, GDP rose by 0.3 per cent after declining in both April and May. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the UK services sector, which makes up [...]
Dishoom warns that Brits’ low incomes pose risk for hospitality August 13, 2025 Dishoom has warned that the dual effects of still-low disposable income in the UK and tax rises in last autumn’s Budget present a short-term risk to British hospitality. The iconic restaurant business added that these factors may be exacerbated by “a possible slowdown in economic growth”. Confidence in the UK’s hospitality sector has been in [...]
Labour warned tightening inheritance tax would ‘stymie growth’ August 13, 2025 Plans to tighten inheritance tax rules on gifting and passing assets on to family members before death would damage UK growth and could lead to “regret” within the government, Labour has been warned. Treasury officials are reportedly considering changing rules which allow Brits to pass on assets to younger family members over seven years before [...]