Autumn Statement 2014: What free marketeers want from George Osborne and what they’re likely to get November 24, 2014 With the Autumn Statement just a week away, George Osborne is already being inundated with suggestions on how to boost growth and cut the deficit. The CBI has already weighed in with its suggestions, including raising the threshold for employee National Insurance Contributions and cutting business rates. Britain's unemployment rate may have dropped like a [...]
Stamp duty was already a bad tax – the buy-to-let surcharge makes it even more stupid November 30, 2015 Petty, shallow and stupid. That pretty much sums up the government’s new 3 per cent stamp duty surcharge on additional properties, announced by the chancellor in the Autumn Statement last week. Beyond the naked appeal to the public’s envy of second home owners and buy-to-let landlords, there is almost nothing to recommend this measure on [...]
Facebook’s UK corporate tax bill in 2014 was less than the cost of this annual commute between London and Brighton October 11, 2015 Facebook paid just £4,327 in corporation tax last year – less than the annual cost of travel for some people commuting to London from Brighton each day. The miniscule amount was paid on losses of £28.5m at its UK business, according to its latest accounts, up from £11.6m the year before. Revenues hit £105m in 2014, [...]
London house prices: Prime central property prices will drop this year, but the cool-down won’t last long, says Savills October 15, 2015 The price of London’s prime property will decline in price this year on the back of last 2015's stamp duty reforms, but they will climb by a whopping 21.5 per cent over the next five years, an estate agent has predicted. Prime central London property prices, which average at around £5m, will drop two per cent this [...]
Charles Stanley refusing to rule out future redundancies amid new cost cutting measures, as losses drop to £300,000 June 16, 2016 Charles Stanley is to continue rounds of cost-cutting as it seeks to return to profit, with future redundancies a possibility, and offices in London among those to be closed this year. The firm reported a financial loss of £300,000 for the year ending 31 March, dramatically cutting losses of £6.1m in 2015. However, revenues dropped to [...]
Prepare to salivate: John Lewis predicts the 10 things we’re going to go nuts for in autumn/winter 2016 April 22, 2016 Yes, the summer has only just arrived (or has it? Is this really it?) but retailers are already one step ahead of us, forecasting what we'll be buying this autumn/winter. Well it is only 246 days until Christmas. So while you might be daydreaming about which holiday clothes you're going to splurge on, the buyers [...]
These MPs want the government to hike the rate of tax on tobacco October 11, 2015 A group of MPs want the tax rate on cigarettes and other tobacco products to be increased to reduce the number of people smoking and raise £100m for the Treasury to spend on anti-smoking projects. The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on smoking and health has suggested tobacco tax be raised to five per cent from the [...]
Autumn Statement 2014: Forget a new fiscal rule – George Osborne should beef up the Office for Budget Responsibility to ensure real prudence December 2, 2014 George Osborne has made his name with a commitment to fiscal prudence, backed up by tough cuts to public services. In today’s Autumn Statement, he is expected to reinforce that reputation by announcing a formal target, backed by law, to eliminate the current structural deficit by 2017-18, a year earlier than previously forecast. There are [...]
Savills: London house prices for the Capital’s most expensive properties have been dented by new stamp duty rules September 30, 2015 London's most expensive properties have been dented by strict new stamp duty rules, new research from upmarket estate agent Savills has shown, with prices in central London falling 4.6 per cent in September, compared with the same month last year. The heart bleeds… The research suggested new rules introduced in last year's Autumn Statement, which [...]
Autumn Statement 2014: Business rate reform will boost job creation, says British Retail Consortium October 28, 2014 The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has written to chancellor George Osborne ahead of this year's autumn statement urging a reform of business rates to encourage investment and job creation. Retailers have long complained about the current system, under which rates have risen disproportionately to rent and other taxes. BRC figures show market rents [...]