Exclusive: Capital gains tax on French properties to soar for UK residents post-Brexit December 2, 2020 UK residents with a second home in France will have to pay substantially more capital gains tax on property sales starting from next year when Britain leaves the Brexit transition period. French tax authorities confirmed today that UK residents will no longer benefit from the EU exemption from a social levies tax and will need [...]
Bentley has hired cargo jets to fly car parts to UK to avoid Brexit border logjams December 2, 2020 Luxury car maker Bentley has hired five cargo jets to fly car parts back to the UK in case of disruption to cross-border customs flows when the Brexit transition period ends. Chief executive Adrian Hallmark said the aircraft were one of a number of precautions the firm had take ahead of 1 January. “We have [...]
FTSE inches higher after Pfizer vaccine approval but Wall Street slips December 2, 2020 The FTSE 100 inched higher today as the UK became the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer/Biontech coronavirus vaccine for use. Having opened in the red, London’s premier index was up 0.5 per cent in the early afternoon, with the FTSE 250 of mid-cap firms down 0.3 per cent. Analysts said that [...]
Labour rules out Universal Basic Income for next election manifesto December 2, 2020 Labour shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds has said she will not advocate giving every person in the UK a regular lump sum payment in the party’s next election manifesto. Dodds today told a virtual Bloomberg conference that giving regular handouts to everyone in the country, known as Universal Basic Income (UBI), “won’t work”. The shadow chancellor’s [...]
UK ‘through Covid by Spring’ but economic benefits are ‘months away’ December 2, 2020 The UK will be through the coronavirus pandemic by Spring, Matt Hancock said this morning, following news the Pfizer/BioNTech has been approved for distribution in the UK. Health minister Matt Hancock has said the UK will be ‘through this by Spring’, but despite the optimism, analysts have predicted there will not be an immediate boost [...]
Barclays issues scam warning to SMEs ahead of Brexit December 2, 2020 A surge in business scams this year has triggered Barclays to issue a scam warning ahead of the end of the Brexit transition period. The high street bank has today issued a warning to UK SMEs to remain vigilant as the transition period ends, as thousands of businesses fall victim to sophisticated scam tactics. New [...]
Government slammed for relying ‘too much’ on management consultants in Brexit preparations December 1, 2020 The government relies “too much” on management consultants for work on Brexit preparations “that could be better done by civil servants”, the select committee on government spending has warned. In a wide-ranging report published today, the Public Accounts Committee slammed the government’s negligence of civil servants in preparing for Brexit, amid warnings that ministers are [...]
Gove ‘doesn’t know’ how many customs agents UK has ready for Brexit, says lorry group December 1, 2020 The country’s largest lorry lobby group has said Michael Gove does not know how many customs agents the UK will have available post-Brexit and that there will be chaos at the border on 1 January deal or no deal. Gove, the minister responsible for Brexit preparations, today refused in an interview to answer how many [...]
FTSE 100 and Wall Street chase record highs as vaccine hopes boost markets December 1, 2020 The FTSE 100 logged its best session in three weeks today while Wall Street hit record highs as markets continue to ride a wave of vaccine optimism. The blue-chip bourse closed up 1.9 per cent, while the FTSE 250 midcap index rose by 2.6 per cent. It comes after the FTSE recording its biggest gain [...]
Canary Wharf redevelopment gets green light as landlords seek Covid-friendly offices December 1, 2020 Redevelopment plans for a Canary Wharf office block have been given the green light, as property owners seek to capitalise on demand for Covid-19 secure office space. Real estate asset management firm Quadrant and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management have secured planning permission to redesign 30 South Colonnade in the east London financial district. [...]