PwC: Stop tinkering with tax relief on pensions December 2, 2012 ANY move in the Autumn Statement to cut tax relief on pensions contributions or tax the lump sum paid on retirement could hurt savers on modest incomes and put younger workers off saving altogether, pensions analysts warned yesterday. The allowance eligible for relief used to rise with inflation, hitting £255,000 in 2010-11. But that was [...]
FTSE closes flat as low confidence and poor construction data bites December 4, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index closed flat yesterday, underperforming most European bourses as a swathe of downbeat domestic data outweighed optimism about crisis-hit Spain and Greece. British construction activity shrank last month, and confidence about the next year fell to its lowest in almost four years, as the British Chamber of Commerce said that growth in [...]
A business as usual Statement puts Osborne at the mercy of calamities December 5, 2012 IN MAJOR fiscal consolidations, what gets done in the first two years is what gets done – unless or until there is another crisis. More than two years into the coalition’s deficit reduction programme, George Osborne now finds himself unable to change his strategy through additional tax rises or spending cuts. He spent those first [...]
Britain needs a Swedish-style fiscal rule to end its yearly Budget farce | City A.M. March 22, 2013 BEN GUMMER HERE we are again, two days before the budget, and the chancellor is inundated with advice about what he should do to “fix” the British economy. It has become a tiresome ritual that comes around twice a year before the Budget and the Autumn Statement: a litany of suggestions, papers and proposals pushed [...]
Firms call for tax breaks for infrastructure November 25, 2012 BUSINESSES want the chancellor to revive plans to inject cash into large road and rail upgrades with tax breaks, a survey out today suggests. Senior tax professionals at some of Britain’s biggest firms put tax incentives for those investing in infrastructure at the top of their wish list for next week’s Autumn Statement. Tax credits [...]
Reits granted tax incentive December 5, 2012 THE GOVERNMENT has confirmed it is to introduce new legislation allowing real estate investment trusts (Reits) to invest tax-efficiently in each other. The announcement, made alongside the Autumn Statement yesterday, was welcomed by the industry who said giving Reits the same tax freedom as investing in physical buildings would boost investment into the property sector. [...]
A measure for the forward-thinking December 9, 2012 ONE of the most striking pro-business announcements in last week’s Autumn Statement was the increase in the tax relief afforded to company investment in plant and machinery equipment. A miserly allowance of £25,000 jumped ten-fold to a healthier £250,000. Aimed at smallish businesses, it’s meant to unlock cash for investment. But it comes with some [...]
M&S’s new ad campaign will struggle to reverse slumping fashion sales August 21, 2013 YOU CAN visualise the meeting at Marks & Spencer’s headquarters when its new campaign, advertising its make-or-break Autumn collection, was finalised. An ad agency suggests the idea of female empowerment and the boardroom battleground. Any actual brand idea is forgotten, as the rolodex spins and agents are called. Actress Helen Mirren, artist Tracey Emin, author [...]
Government to hammer pensions November 27, 2012 George Osborne could slap pensions with any one of a welter of taxes in the Autumn Statement, tax experts told City A.M. yesterday, as part of the government’s plan to put more of the burden of austerity on the wealthiest people in the UK. The most likely measure the chancellor might adopt was lowering the [...]
No information on the next stage of HS2 until new year December 5, 2012 THE HIGH Speed 2 rail link was among the transport plans to be left out of the Autumn Statement yesterday, with the chancellor stating that details on the second phase of the route have been delayed until next year. The £33bn HS2 proposal will link London to Birmingham, and later Leeds and Manchester. A decision [...]