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What is fiscal drag? The Oxford dictionary defines it as: ‘The deflationary effects of a progressive taxation system on a country’s economy. As wages rise, a higher proportion of income is paid in tax’ The recent comments made by the Chancellor in the Autumn Statement, froze most Income Tax allowance and rates at current levels…

This year, 10 of the UK’s largest seasonal employers are expected to hire 234,700 Christmas workers – up 74 per cent on 2021. This growth is largely being driven by the likes of Amazon but businesses of all shapes and sizes throughout the land are currently advertising for extra help to cover the busy festive…

This month’s Autumn Statement has led to an onslaught of headlines featuring the phrase ‘fiscal drag’. Sometimes referred to as a ‘stealth tax’ the term doesn’t normally move beyond the Westminster bubble or the financial pages so why is it currently causing so much of a stir? To understand why commentators are getting so animated…

More than 27 million households across Great Britain have been given their first £66 payment towards their energy bills. The Government’s Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) has already handed out £1.8 billion in payments to 9 per cent of eligible households in England, Scotland and Wales in its first month. This is the first payment…

Low-paid workers were given a welcome boost in Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement with the announcement that the National Living Wage (NLW) would rise by almost 10 per cent. From April 1 2023, the NLW will go up by 92p to £10.42, an increase of 9.7 per cent, to go some way to protecting the poorest…

The new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, has delivered his Autumn Statement to the House of Commons against a backdrop of a worsening cost of living crisis and with confirmation from the Office for Budget Responsibility OBR that the UK has now entered into a recession. The OBR has stated that the economy is…

Receiving a big tax bill can be overwhelming and can create an even bigger problem – how to pay it. To help provide a solution and ease the financial burden, HMRC offers the Time to Pay scheme, enabling Self Assessment customers to set up a payment plan to spread the cost. Since 6 April this…

Are you a sole trader or partnership? Do you use an accounting date between 6 April and 30 March? If you answered ‘yes’ to both questions, you need to be prepared for a change coming from HMRC in the way it assesses your profits. From 6 April 2024 you will be assessed on your profits…

Green investment can help future-proof the UK economy, but we need to ‘act fast and act now’. Those were the words of Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch when she spoke at a landmark trade event in the North East of England. Speaking to an audience of global investors and executives at the Green Trade and Investment…

The clock is ticking down to complete Self Assessment tax returns with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) reminding customers not to forget to include a very important payment. More than 2.9 million people claimed at least one Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) payment up to 5 April 2022. These grants are taxable and should be…