Budget 2021: Which expected policies were not announced? March 3, 2021 Rishi Sunak’s Budget was a tale of two halves, with the chancellor spending big over the next two years before implementing a series of tax rises in the years after. Many of the policies announced were already leaked days or weeks in advance, with the corporation tax rise to 25 per cent for the UK’s [...]
British Airways dives to £4bn loss as flights reduced by two-thirds March 3, 2021 British Airways (BA) fell to a £3.9bn operating loss in 2020, owner IAG revealed today, more than half of the airlines group’s total loss for the year. According to the FTSE 100 firm’s annual reports, BA’s loss dwarved that of its stablemates Aer Lingus, Iberia and Vueling. These fell to losses of €563m, €1.4bn, and [...]
ITV shares rise as channel secures Meghan and Harry Oprah interview March 3, 2021 ITV shares pushed higher today as the broadcaster revealed it has secured UK rights to Oprah Winfrey’s interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The London-listed company fended off competition from rivals Sky and Channel 4 to acquire the eagerly-awaited chat, in which the couple discuss their decision to quit the royal family. The special [...]
Corporate tax hike could depress economic activity and reduce tax rise revenue, says IFS March 3, 2021 The corporation tax hike announced in today’s budget will lead firms to invest less in the UK in the medium term, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said. Chancellor Rishi Sunak today announced corporation tax will rise from 19 per cent to 25 per cent by 2023 for UK companies with annual profits of [...]
Editorial: Long-term growth worryingly absent in a tax-hiking, business-battering Budget March 3, 2021 Tax hikes are one thing – but more concerning are the pedestrian growth numbers that seem to be the new normal for the British economy Conservative Chancellors do not, as a general rule, batter big business or ordinary Brits with tax hikes. But these are not normal times, and batter both Rishi Sunak certainly has. [...]
Budget 2021: Keir Starmer accuses Sunak of ‘papering over the cracks’ March 3, 2021 Sir Keir Starmer has hit back at Rishi Sunak’s Budget, accusing the chancellor of “papering over the cracks” in his spending plans. The Labour leader said the chancellor was the person “actually making the decisions” in government, but said these decisions had “left us with the mess we find today”. Starmer accused Sunak of delivering [...]
Budget 2021: Big business to pay off UK’s Covid debt burden with £45bn corporation tax rises March 3, 2021 Rishi Sunak will make the UK’s big businesses pay off the country’s Covid spending, with £45bn of corporation tax rises to hit companies with profits over £250,000 the hardest. Corporation tax will rise from 19 per cent to 25 per cent by 2023 for UK companies with annual profits of £250,000 or higher, however a [...]
Corporation tax hike: Rishi Sunak is on the way to creating a tax environment to stifle innovation March 3, 2021 Last week, Rishi Sunak rightly said that fintech is one of the UK’s big success stories, and that the growing industry needs access to talent, finance and support. I had therefore hoped for more good news for the sector in today’s Budget. However, it’s been announced that from 2023, the rate of corporation tax, paid [...]
Chefs spy light at end of Covid tunnel after Sunak budget March 3, 2021 Chefs and restaurateurs across London have welcomed Rishi Sunak’s “life saving” budget plans announced today. A raft of measures aimed at keeping the embattled hospitality industry afloat until it can fully reopen in June includes an extension of the furlough scheme, grants of up to £18,000 for pubs and restaurants, and an extension of the [...]
Nightclubs blast ‘ridiculous’ Budget amid summer festival warning March 3, 2021 UK nightclubs have hit back at a “ridiculous” lack of support for the sector in today’s Budget amid warnings that time is running out to save this summer’s music festivals. The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) said chancellor Rishi Sunak had failed to recognise the specific challenges faced by clubs, bars and casinos, many of [...]