BUDGET 2020: Mixed news for energy duties in budget March 11, 2020 The chancellor has announced a freeze in electricity duty but from April 2022, gas duty will increase. The government is under pressure to reduce the country’s carbon emissions and raise money for public spending. “So as another step towards equalising the rates and encouraging energy efficiency, from April 2022 I’m freezing the levy on electricity [...]
Budget 2020: Sunak continues fuel duty freeze March 11, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced fuel duty will be frozen for another year. The freeze was first announced in 2010 by then chancellor George Osborne and has remained in place ever since. 36 conservative MPs had written to the Sunak asking him to keep the freeze in place. “I am pleased to announce today that [...]
Chancellor Rishi Sunak extends sick pay amid coronavirus fears March 11, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak today announced that sick pay measures will be extended to anyone advised to self-isolate due to coronavirus. In his Budget speech this afternoon, Sunak said anyone in isolation will be able to get a sick note by calling 111, while payments will be made from day one rather than day four. The [...]
If we want cutting-edge R&D, we must rethink our attitude to failure March 11, 2020 A likely centre-piece of today’s Budget will be a new agency to fund high-risk, high-reward scientific research. Brainchild of the Prime Minister’s chief special adviser Dominic Cummings, the Advanced Research Projects Agency (Arpa) is to be modelled after similar bodies in the US — most notably Darpa which has focused on defence related research. Darpa [...]
Businesses urge Chancellor to introduce tax incentives to address trade challenges in a post-Brexit world March 11, 2020 | City Talk Ahead of the Budget, the views of over 500 finance professionals from across the UK were canvassed to find out what policy initiatives the Chancellor should announce to provide an economic boost to a post-Brexit Britain, and to understand the biggest threats to the country’s tax competitiveness. The survey, conducted by EY, reveals that one-third [...]
Budget 2020: How Rishi Sunak will tackle coronavirus and hike spending March 11, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to unveil the 2020 Budget today after the Bank of England’s shock move to slash UK interest rates. Just four weeks into the job, Sunak has spent the last 27 days planning to hike public spending. Record investment would see the government mark the end of austerity. But he is [...]
Budget 2020: Chancellor Rishi Sunak promises “record” infrastructure spend March 10, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak will pledge £600bn over a decade, as he promises “record amounts” of infrastructure investment in tomorrow’s Budget. The Treasury said Sunak will triple the average net investment seen over the past 40 years as part of the Prime Minister’s “levelling up” plans. The Budget, which will be delivered tomorrow, will see more [...]
Small Budget tweaks could give startups big improvements in access to cash March 10, 2020 Britain’s small business funding picture is mixed. The good news is that, while access to traditional bank loans has been limited since the financial crisis, founders have undoubtedly benefited from the rise of alternative finance. Over £2bn is now lent through peer-to-peer lenders and close to 400 equity crowdfunding deals take place in the UK [...]
If the chancellor stands up for small firms, he’ll be standing up for society as a whole March 6, 2020 Ever wondered how much small businesses hand over to the Treasury each year? Try £145bn in corporation tax and VAT alone. Factor in business rates, national insurance contributions, fuel duty, clean air charges and the insurance premium tax, and this big figure becomes, well, astronomical. We small business owners are resilient. We have continued to [...]
Coronavirus crash prompts record flood of fund outflows March 4, 2020 The market slump caused by increased fears over the coronavirus prompted a flood of outflows from equity funds last month. Investors had bought equity funds enthusiastically in the first three weeks of February, shrugging off concerns at the end of January. UK equity funds saw solid inflows of £1.2bn in the first three weeks. However [...]