3 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

14 h. ago Inheritance tax changes under consideration amid spending gap concerns – reports

Government U-turns over winter fuel payments and welfare reform have left Chancellor Rachel Reeves with a multibillion-pound fiscal shortfall.

Economics

5 d. ago Dire economic crosswinds mean Rachel Reeves must raise income tax

Editorial: Despite interest rates being brought to their lowest level in more than two years, a combination of meagre economic growth, high government spending and U-turns over proposed welfare cuts has trapped Labour in a fiscal straitjacket. But the chancellor must remember that good policy is good politics

Economics

6 d. ago Voices: Rachel Reeves won’t thank Gordon Brown for his tax advice

By advocating for an increase in online gambling levies – not to help close the yawning fiscal gap, but to pay for the scrapping of the two-child benefit cap – the former prime minister has suggested that the moral case for higher spending outweighs the need for fiscal responsibility, says John Rentoul

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 Voices: Rachel Reeves must learn a hard lesson from Labour history – wealth taxes simply don’t work

Taxing unearned income is no way for the chancellor to plug her £41bn spending black hole – the better-off are best placed to find a way around paying it, says Chris Blackhurst

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 Voices: ‘The whole tax system needs radical reform’: Readers weigh in on Reeves’ fiscal trilemma

Our community is split on how Rachel Reeves should resolve her fiscal trilemma, with readers divided between raising taxes, cutting spending, relaxing borrowing rules or boosting growth through closer EU ties

Politics

7 d. ago Rachel Reeves faces 'impossible trilemma' and must raise taxes in the autumn budget, economists warn

Rachel Reeves must raise taxes or cut spending in the autumn budget to plug a £41billion budget black hole, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research says

Events

7 d. ago Something has to give, chancellor – and that something is income tax

Editorial: Rachel Reeves must use her autumn Budget to set aside manifesto commitments and put the public finances on a more sustainable footing. The most reliable and economically sound way is the most straightforward – and the most politically difficult

Politics

7 d. ago Reeves warned of ‘impossible trilemma’ on tax, spending and fiscal rules

Think-tank Niesr urges chancellor to increase income tax rates at her next Budget

Events

8 d. ago Stirling hotel manager voices support for tourist tax if funds are used wisely

Stirling Council is currently seeking feedback on the draft Visitor Levy scheme for the area, after it launched a public consultation on the issue last month.

Society

4 w. ago Voices: The ghost at the feast haunting Rachel Reeves’s bombshell speech to the City

Whisper it: What about wealth tax, chancellor, asks Andrew Grice

Events

4 w. ago Voices: The ghost at the feast haunting Rachel Reeves’ bombshell speech to the City

Whisper it: What about wealth tax, Chancellor? ask Andrew Grice

Events

4 w. ago Voices: Labour wants us to live like working people and do whatever working people do – but what exactly is that?

In the lead up to the election, the definition was purposely rubbery in order to secure them the vote, writes Sean O’Grady. Now, it’s just as vague to avoid alienating a nation full of cakeists

Politics

4 w. ago Thousands offered UK asylum in secret scheme after personal data of Afghans who helped British forces leaked by mistake – live

Dataset containing details of thousands of Afghans who applied for relocation to UK released ‘in error’ in 2022Helen Miller is taking over as director of the Insitute for Fiscal Studies thinktank this week, taking over from Paul Johnson, who established himself as the nation’s leading budget commentator.Budget commentary tends to focus on the Treasury’s fiscal rules, on how much “headroom” is available to Rachel Reeves (spare cash in the budget – based on spending plans and anticipated tax revenue, based on the OBR’s growth assumptions), and whether tax or spending plans need to change because the OBR’s forecasts have shifted.Labour came to office with the promise of a ‘mission-driven’ government – a commitment to long-term thinking and systemic reform. The ambition that we should be ‘raising our sights as a nation’ and finding ways to tackle the big challenges we face is the right one.Despite this, we continue to limp from fiscal event to fiscal event, obsessed with whether run of ...

Society

4 w. ago Rachel Reeves 'limping' from one event to the next, head of the Institute for Fiscal Studies warns in brutal assessment of Labour's economic record

Helen Miller said while Labour came into office on the promise of 'mission-driven government' and 'long-term thinking', reality proved different.

Events