AIG’s Hancock steps down: Donald Trump’s regulatory adviser Carl Icahn praises board’s “transition plan” March 9, 2017 AIG's global chief Peter Hancock has announced he will step down after just over two years in the role, with a ally of US President Donald Trump praising the move. The insurance giant announced the president and chief executive would be leaving as part of a wider "transition plan". Hancock will remain in place until AIG has found [...]
Tax rise on national insurance “modest but welcome” says IFS on chancellor Philip Hammond’s Budget March 9, 2017 Moves by chancellor Philip Hammond to increase national insurance tax on the self-employed are “modest but welcome”, according to an influential economics think tank. Paul Johnson, head of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), said the tax increase will help “shore up the tax base and create a slightly less unequal playing field.” The increase [...]
Downing Street is refusing to rule out a u-turn on a National Insurance tax hike for the self-employed March 9, 2017 Chancellor Philip Hammond's plan to hike National Insurance contributions (NICs) for self-employed workers has continued to generate controversy, with Downing Street today refusing to rule out a review of the scheme. Hammond has been at pains to defend the plans today, but increasing numbers of Tory MPs have come out against the plan to up NICs [...]
Aviva share price rockets after releasing annual results that “speak for themselves” March 9, 2017 Aviva's shares leapt over six per cent this morning after beating forecasts and building up a hefty cash pile to reward investors. The figures Similar to other insurers, Aviva was hit by the Lord Chancellor's decision to cut the discount rate. It said the move had hit profits after tax by £380m. In its reported [...]
Chancellor Philip Hammond defends national insurance tax rises in Budget and insists no promises were broken March 9, 2017 Chancellor Philip Hammond has defended his decision to raise national insurance contributions in the Budget, despite a Conservative manifesto pledge not to increase any tax contributions. “There was a broad commitment to lock taxes so that there would be no tax increases and that is what we have done,” Hammond told the BBC. However, up [...]
Q&A: How will Philip Hammond’s 2017 Budget affect your taxes? March 9, 2017 Chancellor Philip Hammond delivered several blows to the self-employed yesterday, but they're not the only group impacted. Here, we've laid out all the ways in which the Budget will affect your tax affairs: NATIONAL INSURANCE What’s happening to National Insurance? National Insurance contributions (NICs) for self-employed workers will be hiked over the next two years, [...]
Philip Hammond’s self-employment tax hike marred a refreshingly mundane Budget March 9, 2017 It took just a couple of hours for the chancellor’s Budget to come under heavy fire. He set out changes to Class Four National Insurance contributions, increasing them from 9 per cent to 11 per cent over a couple of years. This breaks a Conservative manifesto pledge ruling out VAT, income tax and NI increases, his [...]
Chancellor Philip Hammond’s tax hikes in yesterday’s Spring Budget spell political trouble March 9, 2017 Philip Hammond was beaten up pretty badly at last night’s meeting of Tory MPs. Colleagues rounded on him for hiking a tax on the self-employed (for which one can read, entrepreneurs) and for another raid on dividend payment tax relief. How exactly are Tory MPs meant to sell this to their voters? And how does [...]
Chancellor Philip Hammond picks a self-employed pocket or two in his first (and last) Spring Budget March 9, 2017 Chancellor Philip Hammond stands accused of breaking a key Conservative manifesto pledge after announcing a double-raid on Britain’s self-employed workers during yesterday’s Budget. Delivering the first of two Budgets this year, Hammond said he would raise the main rate of Class 4 National Insurance contributions (NICs) for the self-employed by one percentage point to 10 [...]