Two-tier taxes are not the way to get Britain back to work June 16, 2026 Reform’s plan to cut employer National Insurance for Brits but not immigrants is not the way to fix unemployment. Lower jobs taxes for everyone would be better, says Joanna Marchong Reform’s pitch has been consistent from the start. Brits first. Patriotism is a universal solvent for problems that are, on inspection, structural rather than national. [...]
Forget Palantir, Microsoft is the government’s real tech problem June 11, 2026 MPs are right to warn about the dangers of the public sector’s use of Palantir, but the bigger story is the vice-like grip Microsoft exerts of government IT systems, says Bill McCluggage Palantir, the Peter Thiel-founded data analytics firm with its murky intelligence community roots, makes for an irresistible villain. So it’s no surprise that [...]
For all their charm, digital banks still leave me tearing my hair out June 10, 2026 I admire London’s digital banks. But three events in the past month have made me realise I’m not parting ways with my high street bank any time soon. The first was dodgy transactions that started showing up on my Revolut account. I was being charged for random TfL tube journeys. I had a feeling this [...]
Family-owned Tottenham brewer falls into administration as industry pressures mount May 28, 2026 A beloved family-owned Tottenham brewery that was a key player in London’s craft beer renaissance has fallen into administration amidst mounting cost pressures on the industry. Redemption Brewing Company, which was the first commercial brewery to open in Tottenham in nearly 100 years, is officially listed on the formal register of new insolvency appointments as [...]
Wes Streeting’s capital gains tax plan risks ‘disrupting’ growth May 26, 2026 Wes Streeting’s plans to align capital gains taxes while introducing an investment allowance could be “disruptive” for growth as City advisers have become divided over the benefits of sweeping reforms. Streeting told the BBC last week that he backed a plan, first proposed by the Centre for the Analysis of Taxation (Centax) and later adopted [...]
Starling’s profit slides as falling interest rates bite May 21, 2026 Starling’s profit took a dip in the latest financial year as the lower interest rate environment took a chunk out of the digital bank’s bottom line. The UK fintech notched a £217m pre-tax profit, down three per cent from the £223m secured in the prior year. This came as revenue slipped 5.6 per cent to [...]
Bezos calls taxing low-paid Amazon workers ‘absurd’ May 20, 2026 Jeff Bezos has said low-paid Americans should pay no federal income tax, describing the idea of taxing some Amazon workers as “absurd”, as the billionaire founder renewed his criticism of the US tax system. Speaking to CNBC on Wednesday, Bezos said the “bottom half” of US taxpayers should pay zero federal income tax, arguing the [...]
Taxpayers on the hook over ‘dangerously outdated’ government IT systems May 20, 2026 One in four government computer systems are running on outdated technology, a new report has found, with taxpayers having to pay more for failures across Whitehall. The findings, published by Westminster think tank Re:State and supported by Ark Data Centres, reveal that nearly a quarter of the 319 central government systems assessed as of January [...]
Quantexa boss: ‘Britain can build global AI winners’ May 19, 2026 Vishal Marria is not short of reasons to be cheerful about Britain. At a time when the UK’s tech sector is once again debating listings, capital flight and whether founders inevitably end up scaling overseas, the Quantexa boss remains notably bullish about building and scaling in London. “Yes, we’re HQ’d in London, in the UK, [...]
HMRC fights to close Bolt’s VAT loophole May 19, 2026 Ride-hailing platform Bolt faces the tax authorities in court today over how it calculates and pays its VAT bill. At the centre of this dispute was the question of whether Bolt could use the tour operators’ margin scheme (TOMS). Under this scheme, businesses only pay VAT on the profit margin they make between buying a [...]