New budget 2015: George Osborne uses CBI speech to lay out government plans to tackle the productivity puzzle May 20, 2015 George Osborne offered a glimpse of what to expect at the 8 July budget when he gave a speech to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) this evening, with productivity a major focus. Also top of the agenda is the merging of the Shareholder Executive – the body that runs the government’s financial interests in [...]
George Osborne needs a long-term plan for taxation July 6, 2015 “Don’t tinker with taxes” is a consistent cry from business. True, few will bemoan a change that benefits them, but it’s hard to overestimate how much firms value certainty in their tax affairs. It’s difficult to plan ahead if you don’t know what your costs are likely to be. Yet we now effectively have two [...]
IMF warns world facing prolonged period of low growth April 7, 2015 The IMF has warned countries across the world face a prolonged period of low economic growth, due to the effects of an ageing population, and urged governments to take the steps necessary to combat this. "In advanced economies, this decline started as far back as early 2000s and worsened with the global financial crisis. In [...]
David Cameron goes Dutch on first leg of EU reform tour: The Netherlands is a good start as the PM looks for allies May 28, 2015 “Old friends and like-minded allies” was how David Cameron described the relationship between the UK and the Netherlands when he was in The Hague yesterday, kicking off his whistle-stop tour of visits to EU leaders to build up support for the changes he wants to made to European policy. “Like-minded” has certainly been the case [...]
Small businesses need big help from the next UK government March 23, 2015 This week, the chancellor answered our members’ calls for a stricter crackdown against multinational companies that avoid tax in Britain. We welcomed George Osborne’s decision to use taxation as a way to influence more ethical business practices in the UK. The chancellor’s ‘Google tax’ crackdown is a positive step towards creating a fairer system where [...]
July Budget 2015: Every key policy announced today July 8, 2015 George Osborne revealed the first Budget of the government, including policy changes on everything from pensions and inheritance tax to bank levies and the Northern Powerhouse. Here we round up all the essential points from the Red Box. 1. A surplus will be reached by 2019 Osborne pledged to reduce the deficit by [...]
Behold the era of market meddling: Whoever wins the General Election, the age of intervention is upon us April 23, 2015 In the run up to every General Election, the business community voices its concerns over what a Labour government would mean for UK plc. There is the regular letter to The Telegraph, signed by 100 business leaders, in a show of support for the Conservatives. There is much worry, and some hysteria too. Many readers [...]
Government warned tax evasion clampdown may hit the innocent March 19, 2015 CITY firms and business groups warned yesterday that the government’s proposed new tax evasion measures could criminalise innocent firms or individuals. Chief secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander laid out a variety of new rules yesterday morning. There will be a new offence of strict liability, so pleading ignorance is no longer an excuse. This “will [...]
Britain needs an industrial strategy – and it doesn’t mean picking winners May 26, 2015 The Queen’s Speech today will outline how the new Conservative government will put the contents of its pre-election manifesto into practice. It will contain many measures, including an EU referendum bill that will attract a lot of attention. But the big question is this: how will the new government meet the tax and spending commitments [...]
Majority of Britons want to follow Australia and introduce compulsory voting April 9, 2015 The debate over how to increase voter turnout has produced some controversial proposals. None more so than the suggestion that the UK should follow Australia's lead and compel citizens to vote through force of law. In Australia, citizens can be fined £115 for refusing to vote. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) argue young [...]