3 h. ago Boosting productivity will be main priority of my autumn budget, Reeves says

Exclusive: Chancellor says ‘investment and reform are our tools’ as she pushes back against mounting tax speculationRachel Reeves: Labour has fixed the foundations – now we must build a stronger economy for a renewed BritainRachel Reeves has promised to use her autumn budget to prioritise fixing Britain’s dismal record on productivity as she sought to downplay mounting tax speculation with a focus on economic growth.Setting out her priorities for the budget for the first time, the chancellor said tackling the efficiency of the economy through higher investment and a fresh assault on planning rules would form the backbone of her tax and spending plans. Continue reading...

Politics

3 h. ago Boosting productivity will be main priority of autumn budget, Reeves says

Exclusive: Chancellor focuses on investment and planning rules as she dismisses talk of tax rises as ‘speculation’Rachel Reeves: Labour has fixed the foundations – now we must build a stronger economy for a renewed BritainRachel Reeves has promised to use her autumn budget to prioritise fixing Britain’s dismal record on productivity as she sought to downplay mounting tax speculation with a focus on economic growth.Setting out her priorities for the budget for the first time, the chancellor said tackling the efficiency of the economy through higher investment and a fresh assault on planning rules would form the backbone of her tax and spending plans. Continue reading...

Politics

6 h. ago Voices: Labour can’t hit ‘working people’, so now they’re after people who used to work

Whatever weasel words they may use to justify any changes to inheritance tax, the message is clear: you’re better off not making money under Labour, because they will get you in the long run, writes Chris Blackhurst

Events

7 h. ago Reeves accused of ‘punishing families’ with inheritance tax raid – that still ‘won’t fill Labour’s blackhole’

Former government economist Jonathan Portes told The Independent changes to inheritance tax would not raise enough to plug the UK’s multi-billion-pound fiscal shortfall

Politics

13 h. ago 'Politics of envy': Fury as Labour opens the door to an inheritance tax raid on Middle England as ministers fail to deny push to end tax

Dame Diana Johnson, the policing minister, failed to rule out changes to the so-called 'death tax' this autumn amid growing concerns about the state of the public finances.

Politics

41 h. ago KFC is bringing back two discontinued menu items after popular demand

KFC is bringing back fan-favorite menu options after ‘thousands of social media comments and petition signatures,’ the company says.

Politics

42 h. ago KFC is bringing back potato wedges and spicy wings by popular demand

KFC is bringing back fan-favorite menu options after ‘thousands of social media comments and petition signatures,’ the company says.

Politics

69 h. ago Nice house? Labour wants to tax it, Kemi Badenoch tells Middle England

The Tory leader says Rachel Reeves saw property as a 'cash machine' to plug the gap in the public finances.

Politics

3 d. ago KEMI BADENOCH: Labour's council tax rises are a cynical raid on the very people who keep this country going

Rachel Reeves 's business-squeezing budget has led to rising unemployment, lower growth and a stagnant economy. As ever, Labour's answer is even more tax rises.

Politics

4 d. ago Labour lays the ground for September tax bombshell as Rachel Reeves looks to fill £50billion black hole in nation's finances

Labour is laying the ground for tax reforms this autumn that could spell misery for millions.

Economics

5 d. ago Christmas dinner warning as costs could rise after Labour tax changes

Two-thirds of retailers predict they will have to raise prices further this year

Events

6 d. ago Reeves confirms Treasury reviewing gambling taxes – UK politics live

Gambling tax reform is being strongly promoted by Gordon Brown, the former Labour PM who also spent 10 years as chancellorRushanara Ali, the homelessness minister, is facing criticism for hiking rent on a property she owns by hundreds of pounds, reportedly just weeks after the previous tenants’ contract ended, PA Media reports. PA says:Four tenants who rented a house in east London from Ali were sent an email last November saying their lease would not be renewed, which also gave them four months’ notice to leave, the i newspaper reported.Ali’s property was then re-listed with a £700 rent increase within weeks, the newspaper said. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Londoners face ‘maximum’ council tax hikes to limit huge funding blow from Labour reforms, warns IFS

Cash for inner London town halls will be 11-12% lower in 2028-29 in real terms under the reforms, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies

Events

6 d. ago Inner London boroughs will be big losers in Labour's plan to shake

Cash for inner London town halls will be 11-12% lower in 2028-29 in real terms under the reforms, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies

Politics

7 d. ago Keir Starmer REFUSES to rule out tax hikes in the Budget after economists warn Labour is facing a huge £50bn black hole in public finances

The Prime Minister said he didn't recognise 'some of the figures that are being put out' amid suggestions that Rachel Reeves is on track to miss one of her fiscal rules.

Economics

7 d. ago Keir Starmer pushes back at economists' claims Labour is facing a £50bn black hole

The Prime Minister said he didn't recognise 'some of the figures that are being put out' amid suggestions that Rachel Reeves is on track to miss one of her fiscal rules.

Economics

7 d. ago Thousands of company directors leave UK after Labour’s tax changes

FT analysis finds jump in departures with UAE the top destination

Politics

9 d. ago Beauty sector faces huge job losses as Labour's tax hikes turn ugly

Industry bosses say the Government's tax hikes are now harming economic growth which will mean fewer jobs available for young people.

Economics

3 w. ago Labour wealth tax war rages amid claims Reeves will reject calls for charge on assets

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is desperately hunting for options as she faces an estimated £30billion black hole in the public finances at the Autumn Budget .

Economics

3 w. ago Labour shouldn’t fear taxing the rich – the people I work with would welcome it | Stephanie Brobbey

The UK still holds many attractions for the privileged despite prophecies of a wealth exodus if Rachel Reeves swoopsI’ve worked with the super-rich my whole career. I worked for more than a decade as a lawyer advising high net worth individuals, and many of the people I worked with had assets worth more than £10m. It was commonplace to refer to their luxury apartments – usually in neighbourhoods like Kensington or Chelsea – as “safety deposit boxes in the sky”. My work involved advising them on how to pass on assets such as these pieds-à-terre and country piles in the home counties while minimising their taxes.Many of the super-rich have ties all over the world, decamping to homes in the south of France in the summer, or their Alpine chalets for ski holidays. Some have constructed more contrived connections to places like Singapore or Bermuda to reduce their tax bills. But regardless of their undeniable worldliness, the super-rich love living in the UK.Stephanie Brobbey is founder a...

Economics