Costly departures: Why an exit tax looks more likely than a wealth tax July 22, 2025 Tax experts have been queuing up to warn that a blanket tax on wealth is both unlikely and unfeasible. But as ministers insist the government will avoid tax hikes targeting average earners, could it turn to an exit tax to plug the gap? As reams of impressed tourists shuffled their way through the opulent surroundings [...]
What a science tour of Wales taught me about time, the earth – and my nan July 21, 2025 The history of time, and a touching family connection, brought Damien Gabet closer than ever to rural Wales During the war my grandmother, Gwyneth, would walk from her parents’ farm in the South Swansea Valley to a neo-gothic mansion called Craig-y-Nos. Once home to the fabled opera singer Adelina Patti, it had since become a [...]
Ofwat to be scrapped in sweeping water reforms July 21, 2025 Ofwat is set to be abolished and replaced by a “single, powerful regulator” aimed at cutting water pollution and protecting families from higher bills, the government has revealed. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has said operations conducted in England by Ofwat will be merged with the Environment Agency, Natural England and [...]
Government must ‘take its head out of the sand’ after jobs plunge July 17, 2025 Small businesses have urged the government to “take its head out of the sand” over tax hikes and a flurry of fresh employment regulations after the Office for National Statistics reported another consecutive month of jobs losses. Responding to Thursday’s unemployment figures, the Federation for Small Businesses said the jobs plunge was “disturbing” and that [...]
Maker of Gary Neville’s The Overlap surges into profit July 17, 2025 Gary Neville’s production company has returned to profit after its main show, The Overlap, almost doubled in value, it has been revealed. Buzz 16 Productions has posted a pre-tax profit of £743,306 for the year to 30 June, 2024, new accounts filed with Companies House show. The turnaround comes after the company posted a pre-tax [...]
Drop off charges at UK airports hit £1 per minute July 17, 2025 Drop off charges at UK airports have reached the highest level on record amid booming travel demand over the summer. Analysis from the motoring group RAC found 11 airports have jacked up so-called ‘kiss and fly’ fees since last year as part of a long-running trend in the UK. Heathrow, Britain’s biggest airport, increased charges [...]
Mark Kleinman: Radical Post Office reform has mutual interest July 17, 2025 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his weekly City AM column Radical Post Office reform has mutual interest Talk about a pregnant pause: it’s nine months since I reported that ministers had asked the consulting firm BCG to explore options for transferring the Post Office into mutual [...]
Chelsea’s Club World Cup winners’ prize? A £10m US tax bill July 16, 2025 Chelsea will be hit with a US tax bill of around £10m as a result of winning the Club World Cup on Sunday. The stunning 3-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in New York last weekend ensured Chelsea will receive £85m in prize money from competition organiser Fifa. Some £39.7m is to be paid immediately and [...]
Exclusive: BBC makes late swoop for Open highlights deal July 15, 2025 The BBC has secured a last-minute deal to show evening highlights of the Open Championship at Royal Portrush this week. The R&A has agreed a new three-year deal with the BBC for highlights in a contract that also covers the Women’s Open, starting with the 2025 edition at Royal Porthcawl at the end of the [...]
Give business a voice to get back to growth July 15, 2025 The energy, ambition and innovative new ideas we need to turn Britain around is out there, it just needs to make itself heard, says Emma Revell Last year I wrote – on these very pages – that “[o]ne of the biggest hurdles we face as a country is a fundamental misunderstanding between the people who [...]