Rishi Sunak must stop dragging his heels and seize a once-in-a-lifetime chance to fix global corporate tax May 21, 2021 Anger at the never ending stories of global corporations dodging tax is set to hit boiling point. Barely a day goes by without a fresh tale of a big multinational paying ultra-low rates of tax. Even after a year of record sales during the pandemic, Amazon Europe did not pay any corporation tax on the [...]
BoE eyes a climate-conscious corporate bond purchase scheme May 21, 2021 The Bank of England (BoE) has tabled plans to make its £20bn of corporate bonds better aligned with government net zero targets today. Set to begin later this year, the bank will not immediately sell off bonds issued by businesses that have high carbon emissions, such as energy and oil firms. “Divestment is a powerful [...]
Screenshot: Have the streaming wars just gone nuclear? May 21, 2021 This week **Media Moment of the Week: That’ll do, you donkeys **Have the streaming wars just gone nuclear? **Can London close the tech gap on Silicon Valley? Media Moment of the Week: That’ll do, you donkeys Shrek turned 20 this week. Ah lovely, an innocent reminder of youth, I bet you’re thinking. Wrong. It’s actually [...]
Westminster must stop City of London ‘neglect’, says ex-Johnson adviser May 21, 2021 The government must stop its “policy of benign neglect” toward the City of London and urgently bring in financial services regulation reforms, according to Boris Johnson’s former economic adviser. In a report released by centre-right think tank Policy Exchange, Dr Gerard Lyons called for a strong stance on parting from the EU’s financial services regulations [...]
Labour steps up pressure on Rishi Sunak over Biden’s global tax plan May 20, 2021 Labour has stepped up its push to get Rishi Sunak to agree to Joe Biden’s plan for a minimum business tax rate among the world’s biggest economies. The party is calling on the government to put together a review of the effects of Biden’s proposal to implement a 21 per cent minimum on global business [...]
Furlough and unemployment will keep inflation figures down and give Rishi Sunak breathing room May 20, 2021 Fresh statistics have shown inflation in the UK has more than doubled in the last month. This has dominated the headlines as many economists fear spiralling inflation. However, the reaction is The news from the ONS that UK inflation has more than doubled in April has generated concerned headlines. Such a reaction is somewhat inevitable. [...]
Climate-related reporting sprints to centre stage May 19, 2021 As the world begins to count the days to the start of the summer Olympics, a far more importance race for the human race has also begun in earnest. Whether due to the fast-approaching COP26 conference due to be held in Glasgow in November, efforts are now taking place at considerable pace to move the [...]
Levelling up must mean unleashing our post-Brexit potential to reel in global investment May 18, 2021 Our recovery from the pandemic, delivering the benefits of Brexit and fulfilling the levelling up agenda are the three cornerstone challenges Boris Johnson is facing. Investment is a key to all of those. Rishi Sunak recognised that in the budget with policy initiatives ranging from super deductions to special economic zones. Public investment alone, however, [...]
Covid-19: Cost of UK’s pandemic response climbs to £372bn May 17, 2021 The UK’s response to the coronavirus pandemic has now racked up costs of £372bn, according to the latest official estimates. In a new update to its Covid-19 cost tracker, the National Audit Office (NAO) said £372bn was the estimated total cost of emergency financial support as of May 2021. This marks an increase of over [...]
Rishi Sunak does not back Joe Biden’s global business tax plan May 17, 2021 Rishi Sunak is withholding support for Joe Biden’s draft plan to implement a minimum 21 per cent global business tax rate, with the chancellor wanting more assurances on taxation on US tech giants. Sunak, who is chairing this year’s G7 meetings for finance ministers, has reportedly said he would only support a minimum tax rate [...]