UK business confidence bounces back from Trump’s tariff blow May 30, 2025 UK business confidence rallied in May as global financial markets made their recovery from President Donald Trump’s tariff onslaught. Lloyds Bank business barometer jumped 11 points over the last month to 50 per cent. – marking a nine month high. The lender surveys 1,200 companies and weighs up the percentage of firms that have a [...]
New warning over ‘stealth’ £9bn income tax raid May 27, 2025 The government is under fire over its “stealth tax bombshell” as hundreds of thousands of Brits are set to be dragged into higher tax bands by the end of the decade. As many as 1.9m workers will see their pay fall into higher tax brackets by 2030 as the bands fail to keep pace with [...]
Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes will cost me £1m – Hooch tycoon March 31, 2025 The founder of the alcoholic drinks empire behind the likes of Hooch and VK has warned the tax hikes announced by Rachel Reeves will cost him an extra £1m. Steve Perez, the boss of Derbyshire-headquartered Global Brands, added that the Chancellor has “stacked the odds” against businesses like his and that he has “no choice” [...]
Rachel Reeves has already lost half of her £9.9bn headroom March 28, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has had £5bn wiped off her headroom less than 48 hours after she delivered her Spring Statement, a calculation by Bloomberg Economics has suggested. Chancellor Reeves has received several warnings from leading economists at the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) and the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) that her headroom risks getting [...]
Spring Statement 2025: Rachel Reeves won’t rule out tax hikes at next Budget March 26, 2025 Rachel Reeves has declined to rule out hiking taxes at her next Budget, amid growing pushback from Labour MPs over welfare cuts in the wake of her Spring Statement. The Chancellor told reporters at a press conference that she was focused on growing the economy, despite speculation she will have to find more revenue to [...]
Income tax will need to rise to fund defence push, Mervyn King says February 27, 2025 Speaking on Sophy Ridge's show on Sky News, Mervyn King acknowledged the government was in a "very difficult position," but criticised it for a lack of ambition.
Andy Burnham slammed for Manchester tourist tax plans February 21, 2025 Andy Burnham has been slammed by the chief executive of UKHospitality after backing plans for a new tourist tax to be introduced in Manchester. The mayor of Greater Manchester said earlier this week that tourists visiting the city region should pay a “proper” mandatory “tourist levy”. He added that he wanted to see Manchester city [...]
‘This is Keir Starmer’s Poll Tax’: Labour warned inheritance tax protests won’t stop February 17, 2025 The Labour government’s reforms to farmers’ inheritance tax announced in the Autumn Budget has been branded as “Keir Starmer’s Poll Tax”. William Lees-Jones, who owns and runs Manchester-based JW Lees, which has produced real ale since 1828, added that the Prime Minister is “losing the argument and feeling rattled”. The pubs boss has liked the policy, which [...]
Trump tells businesses to make products in the US or pay the price January 23, 2025 Donald Trump has told businesses they should make their products in the US, or face paying tariffs, while speaking at Davos. President Trump addressed the World Economic Forum at the Swiss ski resort this afternoon, and used his speech to emphasise his message to business. It comes after he threatened to double tax rates for [...]
President Trump threatens to double tax rates for foreign firms January 22, 2025 Donald Trump has threatened to double tax rates for foreign nationals and companies in the US in what he said was a bid to hit back at “discriminatory” duties on American firms. The President set out a memo on his ‘America first’ trade policy on Monday which referred to an almost 100-year old element of [...]