Government announces an end to stamp duty holiday November 29, 2011 THE CHANCELLOR was accused of dealing a blow to first-time buyers yesterday after announcing that the government would not be extending the stamp duty holiday beyond next March. In his Autumn Statement yesterday, George Osborne said that duty land tax relief “has been ineffective” in increasing the number of first time buyers entering the market. [...]
Schools win extra £1.2bn in new funds November 29, 2011 MICHAEL Gove, the education secretary, was the biggest winner from yesterday’s Autumn Statement, after he received an extra £1.2bn for his schools budget. The chancellor announced £600m to fund an extra 100 “free schools”, which are run independently by private groups or parents and do not have to answer to the local authority. Part of the [...]
Osborne gets an ‘A’ for moving fiscal goalposts November 29, 2011 IT is a common joke that some tests are impossible to fail – the driving theory exam, for instance, or an A-Level in General Studies. You would expect George Osborne’s fiscal mandate to be slightly more taxing. But you’d be wrong. Because the chancellor’s two fiscal targets test very little, save for his ability to [...]
Trust in the Tinkerer of the Exchequer November 29, 2011 IT WAS a motley crew of beneficiaries the Tinkerer of the Exchequer ushered into the first class cabins of HMS Treasury yesterday. Satellites, waste facilities, broadband networks, supercomputers, world-bleating (beating?) animal health labs, the Kettering Bypass, small shops, the A453 link… “They’re all going to be improved!” the Tinkerer brayed, as he furiously rearranged the [...]
Balls: economy in tatters after growth plans are proved a truly colossal failure November 29, 2011 SHADOW chancellor Ed Balls yesterday called George Osborne’s plans for the UK economy a “truly colossal failure”, and claimed the country will have to borrow £158bn more than the government planned a year ago. Responding to the chancellor’s Autumn Statement, Balls told a raucous House of Commons: “After 18 months in office the verdict is [...]
Reforms to employment regulations will go ahead November 29, 2011 GEORGE Osborne yesterday reiterated the government’s plans to reform employment laws, including doubling the time before an employee can bring an unfair dismissal claim and introducing fees for tribunals. First announced in April’s budget, the Chancellor said the changes would help firms that are “afraid to hire new staff because of their fear about the [...]
WHAT DOES THE CHANCELLOR’S BUDGET MEAN FOR YOU? November 29, 2011 PWC’S BUDGET TEAM SAYS: The restricted rises in tube fares will help Catherine’s travel costs and so too will the fuel duty increases being less than expected. The bank levy increase from 1 January 2012 may hit Catherine’s clients in the financial services sector although they will be buoyed by the chancellor George Osborne’s reluctance [...]
VAT relief for charities that share costs November 29, 2011 THIRD sector groups that share back office functions will be given tax relief on VAT payments, a move that could save organisations £125m a year in tax by 2016-17. The VAT cost-sharing exemption will allow charities, universities and other non-profit groups to share costs without adding on VAT. Experts welcomed the announcement but said with [...]
Free childcare scheme gets £650m boost November 29, 2011 PARENTS have a better chance of accessing free nursery places for their toddlers after chancellor George Osborne almost doubled the scope of the government’s free childcare scheme yesterday. Free places at day care nurseries, children’s centres, playgroups or child minders for 15 hours per week will be made available to 260,000 two-year-olds from disadvantaged families, [...]
Pride before a fall: Osborne looked to special interests, not the UK’s perilous state November 29, 2011 THE Autumn Statement showed that George Osborne has failed to grasp the gravity of the economic crisis facing the UK. Urgent action was needed to brace the economy for double-dip recession and the fallout from the euro crisis. Instead, the chancellor announced a big increase in government borrowing, together with a series of measures that, [...]
