This Morning star Eamonn Holmes faces hefty bill after losing IR35 tax case February 25, 2020 Veteran TV presenter Eamonn Holmes could be facing a hefty tax bill after losing a case against HMRC over his employment status. Holmes, who hosts ITV’s This Morning, had argued he was a freelancer as he received payments from the broadcaster through his company Red, White and Green Limited. However, a judge ruled that the [...]
Chancellor Rishi Sunak bows to industry pressure on IR35 changes February 24, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has bowed to industry pressure over IR35 tax changes by promising enforcement will not be “heavy-handed”. The IR35 measures were implemented in order to prevent tax avoidance by “disguised employees”, contractors with permanent positions at companies without paying the same tax or national insurance contribution as standard employees. Under the latest reforms [...]
Spending spree could come at a heavy cost February 24, 2020 From the briefings that have been emerging from Downing Street and the Treasury in recent weeks, it is sometimes difficult to remember which party won the last election. Ahead of the Budget, there are reports we could be set for a spending boom to rival Gordon Brown’s pre-election giveaway in 2001 — the very height [...]
Treasury mulls new laws to delay end of cash February 23, 2020 The Treasury is drawing up plans to protect the availability of cash amid concerns over declining access to dispensers for older people and those from rural communities. Officials are understood to be in detailed discussions about how to combat the decline of cash ahead of the Budget next month, with one possible option the introduction [...]
The revolution is imminent, and big Telco needs to change February 21, 2020 Complex deals. High prices. Bad service. Guess which industry I am talking about? Four old incumbents own more than 90 per cent market share, nearly nine million people pay a loyalty tax every year, and yet “industry leaders” get invited to Downing Street for tea and biscuits. The answer is telecoms. It’s front-page news: 5G [...]
Time for the Treasury to get with the programme — Britain can afford to spend February 19, 2020 In the days of the old Soviet Union, so-called Kremlinologists would pore over every utterance of the Politburo, every sentence in Pravda, to try to work out what was really going on. Sajid Javid’s defenestration from the Treasury has led to an upsurge in similar types of intellectual effort here. What was it really all [...]
Chancellor and Prime Minister to thrash out details of Budget as March deadline stays February 18, 2020 The new chancellor Rishi Sunak will meet Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Westminster tomorrow, as the pair thrash out the details of next month’s Budget. Sunak, who was parachuted into the role on Thursday after Sajid Javid’s surprise resignation, confirmed this morning that the Budget will be going ahead on 11 March, despite the shake-up [...]
Pound rallies as UK employment hits record high and wages beat 2008 peak February 18, 2020 Wages beat their pre-financial crisis peak for the first time at the end of 2019, as the level of UK employment rose to a record high of 32.9m people. A total of 180,000 people entered the workforce between October and December 2019, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said today. That took the number of [...]
Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirms 11 March Budget February 18, 2020 New chancellor Rishi Sunak has confirmed that the Budget will go ahead on 11 March. City A.M. understands Sunak, who was parachuted into the role after his former boss Sajid Javid quit last week, will not attend this weekend’s G20 meeting of finance ministers, in order to focus on preparations for the fiscal event, the [...]
Ousting Sajid Javid could limit Boris Johnson’s options February 18, 2020 Any time a Prime Minister reshuffles his or her cabinet, there are bound to be disappointed ministers — or ex-ministers — turfed out from a job they enjoy in a system that can sometimes prize loyalty over ability. But last week’s surprise resignation of Sajid Javid, the UK’s short-lived chancellor, could actually limit Boris Johnson’s [...]