Budget 2021: Hospitality and retail to get 50 per cent discount on business rates October 27, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced a one-year 50 per cent business rates discount for retail, hospitality and leisure sectors. Any eligible business in these sectors can claim a discount of up to 50 per cent up to a maximum of £110,000 – a business tax cut worth almost £1.7bn. Under reforms, system property valuations would [...]
Budget 2021: Bank surcharge slashed but lenders still stung by higher taxes October 27, 2021 UK banks will still be stung by a higher tax rate on their profits even though Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed he will slash the bank surcharge. Sunak told the House of Commons today that the bank surcharge will drop to three per cent from eight per cent in 2023. However, the increase in the headline [...]
Green Budget 2021: Net zero strategy to receive around £11.4bn in new funding October 27, 2021 The government is set to inject more than £11.4bn in new funding into its net zero strategy, according to chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Autumn Budget today. The fresh capital will go towards “the new, green industries of the future”, Sunak said this afternoon. “We are making this country a science and technology superpower”. It will mean [...]
Budget 2021: Sunak pushes back R&D £22bn spending goals by two years October 27, 2021 In today’s budget announcement, Chancellor Rishi Sunak said the government will funnel “unprecedented funding” into innovation, increasing R&D spending to £20bn a year by the end of this parliament in 2024 – but this is down from his previous commitment in March of £22bn per year. Sunak has erred on the side of caution by [...]
Budget 2021: Fiscal watchdog ramps up forecast for UK economic growth to 6.5 per cent October 27, 2021 The government’s fiscal watchdog has ramped up its forecast for the UK economy and expects it to recover to pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year. Chancellor Rishi Sunak told the House of Commons today, as he delivered his third budget, that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) expects the British economy to expand [...]
Budget: UK to invest £850m to protect museums, galleries, libraries and local culture October 27, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced the government will be investing £850m to protect museums, galleries, libraries, and local culture.
Budget 2021: UK to return to offering 0.7 per cent of national income in foreign aid October 27, 2021 True to his promise, chancellor Rishi Sunak has said the UK will return to offering 0.7 per cent of gross national income (GNI) in overseas aid over the next four years. The spending will grow from the 0.5 per cent rate it is now before the parliament’s end in 2024, earlier than the office for [...]
Budget 2021: Levy for property developers to fund removal of unsafe cladding October 27, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has reiterated plans for a levy for property developers to help create a fund to remove unsafe cladding. Speaking at the Budget, Sunak said property developers with profits over £25m will face a levy at a rate of 4 per cent. This will be used to help create a £5bn fund to [...]
Budget 2021: Sunak extends HGV road user levy until 2023 October 27, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced that the HGV road user levy will be suspended until 2023. It was initially suspended until August in 2022, but this will now be extended for a further year. Speaking at the Budget, Sunak also revealed the government is freezing vehicle excise duty for HGVs. The Road Haulage Association welcomed [...]
Sir Keir Starmer tests positive for Covid and will miss the Budget October 27, 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has tested positive for Covid-19 and will miss today’s autumn Budget. It was announced this afternoon that Starmer will miss Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) and the Budget, leaving shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves to respond to Rishi Sunak. Reeves and her deputy Bridget Phillipson met with Starmer just today, however Labour [...]