Caviar for breakfast, lunch and dinner: On board the world’s only luxury icebreaker with Alain Ducasse
UK businesses warn of financial strain ahead of digital tax rules April 29, 2025 A majority of UK small business owners are concerned about the financial and operational pressures of HMRC’s upcoming ‘making tax digital‘ (MTD) reforms to income tax. MTD for income tax, set to take effect from April 2026, will require self-employed individuals and landlords earnings over £50,000 to maintain digital records and submit quarterly updates using [...]
High-tax Britain is losing the race for global talent April 29, 2025 High taxes, fiscal drag and the cost of living mean London is no longer the destination of choice for skilled employees – and competitors like the Basque Country are feeling the benefits, says Ivan Jimenez I’m a proud native of the Basque Country in northern Spain, but having spent a lot of time in the [...]
Welcome to the shape-shifting world of big tech taxes April 29, 2025 Axing the Digital Services Tax may be the price Britain pays for a trade deal with the US, but that doesn’t mean we’ve seen the back of tech taxes, says Tim Sarson Just a few days ago, Rachel Reeves was strolling in, to paraphrase Flanders and Swan, the geopolitical zoo that is Washington DC, attempting [...]
Fiscal drag pulls nearly 2 million into higher tax bracket April 28, 2025 Income tax thresholds, frozen in 2021, have pulled nearly two million Brits into higher brackets as fiscal drag bites. The number of higher rate taxpayers has increased by 1.88m, from 4.43, to 6.31m, between 2021 and 2025, according to finance specialists Rift. “Rising income taxes have been particularly punitive in recent years, as inflation reached [...]
EY: Two years of slow UK growth means ‘increased chances’ of tax rises April 28, 2025 Rachel Reeves may have to resort to reversing Labour manifesto tax pledges as UK growth fails to exceed one per cent for two years running, EY ITEM Club have said, in the latest blow to the chancellor’s fiscal plans The Chancellor has been warned by several forecasters that President Trump’s tariffs will hammer the UK [...]
Which taxes hurt growth the most? April 24, 2025 No business enjoys paying taxes. The knock to a company’s bottom line, as well as the costs of compliance with a sprawling regulatory regime, can leave execs foaming at the mouth. But some taxes are more damaging to growth than others. And, according to fresh research, some have virtually no negative economic impact at all. [...]
Tax hikes would ‘take strain’ as headroom shrinks April 23, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves will likely announce a raft of tax increases to “take the strain” of higher public spending in areas including defence and health, leading economists have warned. The last Autumn Budget saw a historic rise of £40bn in taxes as the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the fiscal watchdog, said the tax burden [...]
Small firms splash out £25bn on tax compliance as HMRC accused of ‘poor service’ April 22, 2025 Small firms are set to stump up a combined £25bn on tax compliance this year, a leading industry body has said, as it accused HMRC of failing to answer phone calls or letters. Calls for a vast reform of the UK’s tax system have come from leading think tanks and policymakers for several years. But [...]
Stealth income tax hike will hit millions of over 60s April 16, 2025 Millions more Brits, including a significant percentage of over 60s, will be dragged into paying income tax in the coming months as Rachel Reeves squeezes the spending powers of lower earners with a freeze on tax bands. Official data suggests that around 11m Brits will begin paying the basic rate of income tax by 2028. [...]
Tax return: Keir Starmer paid more than £54,000 last year April 15, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer has paid more than £54,000 in tax from 2023-2024, it has been revealed, as book royalties and interest on savings pushed the PM’s income into the top tax bracket. The Prime Minister, who published his tax return for the first time since Labour took power, paid £54,718 in tax, according to the [...]