Treasury to scrap valuation quango amid efficiency drive April 28, 2025 The Valuation Office Agency will be folded into HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), the tax minister has said, in the latest sign of the government’s efforts to trim away fat from the operations of the state. The arms length body responsible for valuing properties to determine tax rates, which spans £60bn worth of valuation each [...]
Technicolor: Visual effects studio owed over £100m ahead of collapse April 28, 2025 More than £100m was owed by Technicolor, the visual effects company which worked on films ranging from Disney’s 1940 Pinocchio to 2024’s Mufasa The Lion King when it collapsed into administration in the UK, it has been revealed. Interpath was appointed to oversee the process at the business in February in a move which also [...]
Wetherspoons fails to prove cider is not alcohol in tax dispute April 24, 2025 Budget boozer Wetherspoons unsuccessfully argued cider did not fall within the meaning of 'alcoholic beverages' in a VAT dispute with HMRC
Small firms splash out £25bn on tax compliance as HMRC accused of ‘poor service’ April 22, 2025 Small firms are set to stump up a combined £25bn on tax compliance this year, a leading industry body has said, as it accused HMRC of failing to answer phone calls or letters. Calls for a vast reform of the UK’s tax system have come from leading think tanks and policymakers for several years. But [...]
Stealth income tax hike will hit millions of over 60s April 16, 2025 Millions more Brits, including a significant percentage of over 60s, will be dragged into paying income tax in the coming months as Rachel Reeves squeezes the spending powers of lower earners with a freeze on tax bands. Official data suggests that around 11m Brits will begin paying the basic rate of income tax by 2028. [...]
London’s beloved corner shops can’t survive more red tape April 15, 2025 Red tape, business rates and vape bans are at risk of pushing corner shops to the brink, writes Andrew Boff.
Trump, tariffs and GDP: How do you forecast uncertainty? April 12, 2025 The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), one of the UK’s central forecasters, prepared itself for President Trump’s tariff war – or at least partially. At a presentation after Chancellor Reeves’ Spring Statement, OBR chair Richard Hughes admitted the fiscal watchdog’s central forecast risked being completely undermined by global events. Hughes came up with three possible [...]
Can AI do it better? Why Starmer is right to reimagine the civil service April 11, 2025 What proportion of the civil service's workload could AI handle today? Starmer could revolutionise Whitehall if he's brave enough.
UK firms overpaying billions in corporation tax, research finds April 9, 2025 UK firms overpaid £14.2bn in corporation in the last tax year, according to research by a leading accountancy firm
How could the government reform ISAs? April 4, 2025 The Labour government confirmed plans to make changes to the ISA system at its recent Spring Statement, in a bid to promote a culture of retail investment in the UK. City figures have welcomed the prospect of ISA reforms, which appear likely to be introduced at the next fiscal statement in the Autumn. It remains [...]