A forecast for a bounce in the UK’s GDP has put a spring in Philip Hammond’s step ahead of his first Budget March 8, 2017 Chancellor Philip Hammond will today give an upbeat assessment on the future of the British economy in his debut Budget, as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) becomes the latest body to upgrade its UK growth forecasts. The influential Paris-based OECD yesterday said UK GDP growth will reach 1.6 per cent this year, up [...]
Why we should cheer on chancellor Philip Hammond -aka Spreadsheet Phil – during today’s Spring Budget March 8, 2017 Cast your minds back to November 2015, when George Osborne was still chancellor of the exchequer and Brexit was merely a twinkle in Boris Johnson’s artful eyes. Osborne was under pressure to scrap his proposed cuts to tax credits following an intense political storm. Fortunately for David Cameron’s right hand man, the government’s fiscal watchdog presented [...]
Work and Pensions Committee to pick over Vauxhall pension scheme and its £840m deficit, as well as retirement funds at BHS and Bernard Matthews March 7, 2017 A group of MPs revealed today they are having a closer look at Vauxhall's pension pot, the day after it was announced the European unit of the motoring brand's owner was being purchased by French car firm PSA. The Work and Pensions Committee also said it is scrutinising the status of Bernard Matthews' retirement funds and the recent £363m settlement [...]
Spring Budget 2017: What should chancellor Philip Hammond’s headline promise be tomorrow? March 7, 2017 Sam Dumitriu, head of projects at the Adam Smith Institute, says scrap a tax: Not all taxes are created equal, but almost all deter productive activity. Philip Hammond should look to Lord Lawson’s stint where he abolished at least one tax every Budget and took an axe to top marginal rates. So where should he [...]
Budget 2017 UK: Buzzword predictions and Philip Hammond’s speech odds from bookies – Brexit, Trump and the NHS March 7, 2017 Brace yourself… there's a Budget coming. Philip Hammond will be making his first speech laying out plans for spending and the telling the nation about the state of the economy in his Spring Budget on Wednesday. What's in store from the newbie chancellor? And will he be picking up from where his predecessor George Osborne left [...]
Here’s what the property sector is expecting in this week’s Budget – from stamp duty to landlords to luxury homes March 7, 2017 It’s that time of year again: the days are getting longer, the trees are blossoming, and the one-time-only Spring Budget is rapidly approaching – with homeowners and landlords alike steeling themselves for more punishment from the chancellor. The good news is it looks unlikely there will be much to punish homeowners or lower house prices [...]
Budget 2017 UK predictions: What you can expect from the chancellor’s Spring Budget March 7, 2017 It's that time of year again: the chancellor is getting set to dust off his little red box and deliver the Spring Budget. It's the last one we'll see at this time of year, as Philip Hammond decided to move the major announcements to an Autumn Statement schedule. It's likely to be a more staid [...]
Entrepreneur housebuilders have been crushed: We must bring them back to life March 7, 2017 It's nothing new to say that too few homes are being built in the UK. Fourteen housing ministers in the last 20 years have acknowledged it time after time, just as they have recognised that housing – or the lack thereof – is the UK’s greatest modern economic challenge. Yet the frequency with which these individuals have [...]
Letter: Reform business rates entrepreneurs tell chancellor ahead of Spring Budget March 7, 2017 Entrepreneurs, startup founders and tech leaders have penned an open letter to chancellor Philip Hammond ahead of the Spring Budget calling for business rates reform. Dear chancellor, In recent years London has established itself as Europe’s top destination for technology startups. Our capital has gone above and beyond to welcome and nurture some of the [...]
Entrepreneurs and tech leaders urge chancellor to give startups business rate exemption in Spring Budget March 7, 2017 Entrepreneurs and tech leaders are urging the chancellor Philip Hammond to exempt newly created companies from business rates, adding their voice to a growing chorus of anger at the burden of an imminent rise in costs, and calls for reform. A three-year exemption would give startups breathing space and a chance to find their feet while [...]