George Osborne’s tinkering has made the UK tax system more complicated than ever March 18, 2016 After eight Budgets and six Autumn Statements, we have a pretty good idea of what kind of chancellor George Osborne is. According to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s policy measures database, before Wednesday he had made 585 separate tax policy changes at these so-called “fiscal events”. There had been 165 income tax changes, 107 corporation [...]
Budget 2016: Before small businesses celebrate George Osborne’s speech, they should check the small print for details March 16, 2016 The review of the small business rate relief scheme in chancellor George Osborne’s latest Budget is a very welcome one for UK businesses and is a better outcome than many expected. The news that many more qualifying businesses will pay no rates whatsoever from 2017 is also cause for celebration for small business throughout the [...]
Budget 2016: George Osborne reveals richest one per cent of taxpayers paid 28 per cent of income tax in 2013/14 March 16, 2016 A higher proportion of income tax came from the richest one per cent of taxpayers in 2013/14 than in any other year over the last two decades, chancellor George Osborne said today. In his Budget, published today, Osborne highlighted figures from HMRC showing that those in the highest income tax band contributed 28 per cent of the [...]
Budget 2016: George Osborne’s speech in full March 16, 2016 George Osborne has just revealed the Budget for 2016. There was good news for businesses with corporation tax being sliced and business rates being reformed – but bad news for smokers and students who hate maths. Mr Deputy Speaker, Today I report on an economy set to grow faster than any other major advanced economy in [...]
This Budget is Osborne’s chance to simplify tax and defend globalisation March 16, 2016 There are two threads – one general, the other highly specific – which I should like to see weaved into the fabric of the chancellor’s Budget statement today. First, a clear defence of globalisation and, second, firm action towards the long overdue merger of income tax and National Insurance. Despite what purists might regard as [...]
Here be digital dragons: Why we’re much better off than the official statistics say March 16, 2016 The oldest surviving map of Britain was created in Canterbury a thousand years ago. Our ancestors had a good idea of how to get around, as the country is depicted in its familiar shape. But understanding of the world outside Western Europe remained sketchy for centuries. The phrase “here be dragons” was allegedly used to [...]
Budget 2016 is Osborne’s chance to reform HMRC’s relationship with business for the better March 15, 2016 Tomorrow's Budget poses a dilemma for the chancellor. Does he follow the habits of chancellors past and raise taxes in the first full Budget of a Parliament, or does he defer tax-raising decisions given the uncertainty of the EU vote on 23 June? Whatever he decides, businesses will be focusing on the much-heralded Business Tax [...]
Budget 2016 predictions: A spread of tax raising measures are coming – from raising capital gains tax to tackling salary sacrifice schemes March 14, 2016 Next week’s Budget looms large as experts are anticipating wide-ranging changes, with chancellor George Osborne tweaking tax to raise revenue and balance the books. Pensions were widely anticipated to be an area of huge upheaval, but Osborne has now delayed plans to fiddle with the system. It’s more likely that lots of niche areas are targeted. [...]
Give business a break: Why the chancellor’s Budget should prioritise stability over radicalism March 14, 2016 The chancellor faces an important choice this week, as he delivers his fourth big fiscal plan in 12 months. It comes down to a choice between yet another radical Budget – with all the uncertainty and disruption that may cause for businesses – or a steadier approach that gives firms and the government itself the [...]
With the Budget looming, has George Osborne missed his chance to balance the books? March 14, 2016 Kallum Pickering, senior UK economist at Berenberg, says Yes. As if he ever had much of a chance in the first place. If the precedent of consistently missing his targets year after year isn’t enough, the numbers speak loud and clear. In the first 10 months of this fiscal year, George Osborne has rattled through 90 [...]