Bleak ‘hospitality zones’ will make London nightlife even worse July 31, 2025 Proposed ‘hospitality zones’ for alfresco dining are little more than top-down attempts at vibrancy which will move nightlife away from where it’s already thriving into sterile Boxpark clones, says Tom Jones It is a Saturday night. Your exhaustion from a week of open-plan purgatory – the train delays, the Slack pings, the passive-aggressive tone of [...]
Trump slaps 25 per cent tariffs on India over ties with Russia July 30, 2025 President Donald Trump has vowed to slap India with 25 per cent tariffs on imports from India, with an extra unspecified “penalty” to be introduced, in an attack on its trade with Russia and “obnoxious” rules and standards. Ahead of a Friday deadline for “reciprocal” tariffs, Trump revealed Indian exports would be subjected to higher [...]
Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget still causing negativity – CBI July 30, 2025 A streak of negative business sentiment has now lasted 10 months, a leading industry body has suggested, in further evidence that employers have struggled to turn a page on Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ £40bn tax raid at last year’s Autumn Budget. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has repeatedly told MPs that business confidence was edging higher, [...]
HSBC boss: Rachel Reeves hiking bank tax would dent growth July 30, 2025 The boss of FTSE 100 juggernaut HSBC has become the latest banking voice to warn Rachel Reeves against raising taxes on banks over fears it would harm economic growth. Georges Elhedery, HSBC’s chief executive, said on Wednesday any further financial pressures on lenders could spark trouble for the UK economy. “Additional taxation on banks runs [...]
HSBC shares sink as impairment charge triggers 29 per cent profit hit July 30, 2025 Europe’s biggest lender HSBC suffered a 29 per cent annual hit to profit in the second quarter of the year after a hefty impairment charge related to business in China. The FTSE 100 juggernaut posted a $6.3bn (£4.72bn) pre-tax profit, missing analyst expectations of $6.99bn. This came as the lender recorded a $2.1bn write-down for [...]
Cosmetic surgery businesses in firing line for HMRC clampdown July 30, 2025 HMRC has launched a number of investigations into cosmetic surgery providers for not paying VAT – and cases are likely to rise, according to a law firm. Some providers of botox, dermal fillers and hair transplants have been operating on the misunderstanding that such procedures are VAT-exempt under a provision for medical care, law firm [...]
Can a global minimum tax survive Trump? July 30, 2025 As the G7 exempts the US from the global minimum tax – otherwise known as Pillar 2 – experts are asking when a global tax stops being global? Say Tim Sarson Last month I opened this column talking about an announcement from the German government about a proposal to cut their federal corporation tax rate. [...]
IMF upgrades world economy’s growth forecast as Trump’s tariffs reduced July 29, 2025 The world economy will not suffer as badly from President Trump’s tariffs as previously thought, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted. Global growth is set to be three per cent this year, the IMF said, which is higher than its previous 2.8 per cent forecast made in April. The world economy will grow by [...]
Donald Trump slams North Sea oil taxes that ‘make no sense’ July 29, 2025 US President Donald Trump has slammed the UK for its high taxes on North Sea oil, which he described as a “TREASURE CHEST” for the UK. In an early morning post on Truth Social, Trump said the UK could cash in its oil reserves near Scotland, where Trump opened a new 18-hole course at the [...]
JP Morgan: Rachel Reeves could slash headroom to avoid large tax rises July 29, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves is poised to reduce her wafer-thin £9.9bn headroom even further at the Autumn Budget to avoid making sweeping tax rises, analysts at one of the world’s biggest banks have predicted. Leading think tanks and City analysts have warned that Rachel Reeves will look to raise as much as £30bn in taxes later [...]