UK PMIs: Manufacturing activity creeps higher amid Covid restrictions March 1, 2021 UK manufacturing activity climbed back to its highest levels since the latest lockdown began in February, new figures have shown. The IHS Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 55.1 last month, up from 54.1 in January. Any reading above 50 designates growth. However, a combination of supply chain disruption as a result of the Uk’s [...]
20 taxes to scrap: Britain’s growth needs a simpler tax system March 1, 2021 This week, Chancellor Rishi Sunak will present possibly the most consequential Budget in half a century. UK PLC is simultaneously struggling to cope with both the ongoing catastrophic impact of the Covid pandemic and the unanswered questions of what post-Brexit Britain will look like. According to the OBR, this year’s expected budget deficit will likely [...]
Rishi Sunak should axe 20 UK taxes in Budget, says think tank March 1, 2021 The UK should axe inheritance tax, stamp duty, the TV licence fee and 18 other taxes to simplify the UK’s taxation regime post-Covid, according to a free market think tank. The Institute for Economic Affairs’ (IEA) pre-Budget release has called for Rishi Sunak to “simplify the tax system, reduce the overall burden of taxation, and [...]
BDO: Sunak faces all sorts of challenges February 28, 2021 In many ways the first Budget of 2021, which is set to take place on Wednesday, feels like a significant one. It’s against a backdrop of an ambitious roadmap recently unveiled by the Prime Minister to take us out of lockdown, while at the same time the deficit is the highest seen in the post-war [...]
Budget: ‘Now not the time for harsh cleansing of the economy’, warns Brewin Dolphin’s chief strategist February 28, 2021 The UK government’s actions throughout the Covid pandemic, to protect the livelihoods of many., has led to a national debt pile not seen since World War 2. No wonder all eyes are now on next week’s Budget. With the vaccine rollout well under way, thoughts are slowly turning to how the UK can reduce its debt, [...]
Paddy Power owner Flutter hands staff £14m February 28, 2021 Gambling giant Flutter Entertainment is set to give 14,000 staff a £1,000 bonus as a result of their work during the pandemic. The Paddy Power owner saw profit slide 70 per cent after major sports events were cancelled amid the pandemic. Chief executive Peter Jackson said “maybe we are all bookmakers at heart [and] there [...]
Chancellor set to launch tech visa following Kalifa review February 26, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to launch a fast-track visa programme for tech workers following proposals set out by the Kalifa review into the industry. Speaking to the Financial Times Sunak said the scheme would help “scale up” the industry, saying the new visa stream would be a “calling card for what we are about”. [...]
London to lose out to New York under draft EU financial services agreement February 26, 2021 The City of London’s finance industry would be worse off than New York under an early draft for a cooperation agreement in financial services between Britain and the EU. An early draft of the memorandum of understanding (MoU), first seen by Reuters, has less substance than a deal the EU agreed with the United States [...]
Kalifa review: Fintech industry welcomes ‘invaluable’ tech visa after Brexit February 26, 2021 Recommendations from the government-commissioned Kalifa review published today have been broadly welcomed by the fintech industry. The UK has been at the forefront of innovation in recent years – the sector is worth an estimated £11bn in revenue and represents 10 per cent of the global market. But the report, led by former Worldpay boss [...]
Financier Amanda Staveley loses High Court battle with Barclays February 26, 2021 Financier Amanda Staveley who sued Barclays over the behaviour of bank bosses when negotiating investment deals during the financial crash has lost her court battle. The high-profile trial centred around the claim that Barclays gave Staveley’s private equity firm PCP Capital Partners less favourable treatment than other parties in the emergency £7.3bn fundraising that saved [...]