Abolish stamp duty on shares to reverse London’s IPO slump, say top fintechs Fintech The group that represents the UK’s fastest growing fintech companies has called for the government to scrap stamp duty on shares to boost London’s flagging initial public offering market. Innovate Finance – which counts Revolut, Monzo and Zilch among its members – has called for the Treasury to ditch the 0.5 per cent levy on [...]
Black market cigarette trade ‘accelerating high street decline’, Co-op tells Burnham Retail Criminal gangs selling illicit cigarettes in shops across the UK are “accelerating” the decline of Britain’s high streets and must be stopped, the Co-op has warned Andy Burnham. The black market trade of tobacco is undermining the Prime Minister’s push to rejuvenate UK high streets, eroding public safety and weakening community cohesion, the cigarettes-to-funerals seller [...]
House prices fall for first time in three years as borrowing costs weigh on buyers Property House prices fell in the year to August in the first annual decrease in nearly three years, as high borrowing costs cause prospective buyers to “sit tight”. The average UK house price edged down 0.2 per last month to £298,468, according to Lloyds’ house price index. This marks a 0.4 per cent year-on-year fall, the [...]
Here’s how Britain can woo back the world’s wealthy September 2, 2026 Britain has the lowest number of millionaires since the financial crash but Andy Burnham seems to have plans to stem the tide. Here’s what he should do, according to James Hodgkinson The sad truth is that Britain is getting poorer. Last year saw the number of UK millionaires reach just 442,000. A grim milestone, and [...]
‘Big Brother’: HMRC agents to target mansions with ponies and pools August 31, 2026 HMRC agents are set to inspect homes with ponies, scenic views and balconies in order to value homes for the “mansion tax”. Officials will be sent to properties to consider architectural styles, numbers of bedrooms and whether homes have swimming pools or tennis courts before determining whether homes should be taxed at a higher rate. [...]
‘War on wealth creation’: capital gains tax raid would lose government money, Tories argue August 28, 2026 A fresh capital gains tax raid on Britain’s wealthiest would ultimately lose the government money, according to new Conservative analysis of Treasury data. Internal government modelling suggests that the top rate of capital gains tax (CGT) is already too high and hiking it further would lead to lower tax receipts. Figures presented to the Labour [...]
Jamie Carragher: HMRC petitions for Sky Sports star to be declared bankrupt August 27, 2026 HMRC has filed a petition seeking to have Sky Sports pundit and former England footballer Jamie Carragher declared bankrupt over an unpaid tax bill. The case was filed against James Lee Duncan Carragher by solicitors representing HMRC at the High Court in London yesterday, filings show. The 48-year-old is one of the faces of Sky [...]
Reform to slash HMRC officials’ pay if taxpayers wait too long August 26, 2026 HMRC officials would be fined and dismissed if they keep taxpayers waiting too long to deal with government services under a Reform UK government. If Nigel Farage becomes Prime Minister, customer services officers at the tax collector would have their pay tied to performance levels and be required to keep waiting times to below 30 [...]
An overly complicated tax system is holding the UK back August 25, 2026 Tax simplification should be integral to the government’s growth agenda, writes BDO head of tax Adam Frais.
John Caudwell and Stuart Rose blast ‘tax creep’ August 24, 2026 Billionaire political donor John Caudwell and retail bigwig Lord Stuart Rose have hit out at the “creep of taxes” hitting businesses across the country. The influential business veterans have joined a campaign led by entrepreneur group Helm calling on the government to “stop the creep of taxes on wealth creators”. A letter, which has been [...]