Higher borrowing costs and spiralling inflation amid weaker economic growth mean public finances have “materially worsened” since March, the Office for Budget Responsibility has said.
Powers allowing councils to raise additional revenues locally, as hinted at by levelling up secretary Michael Gove, could come hand-in-hand with a reduction in grant funding, an expert has warned.
Is the Treasury taking the right approach? Is the government ignoring good sources of revenue? How ready is the public sector for more cuts? We’re collecting our readers’ views.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is set to make up to £60bn of spending cuts and tax increases to help shrink the government’s medium-term budget gap, despite the cost-of-living crisis, according to reports.
A charge on workplace car parking – the first of its kind in Scotland – could make millions for City of Edinburgh Council to invest in transport infrastructure.
The government has abandoned most of the measures in sacked chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s ‘mini budget’ from September, with his replacement Jeremy Hunt calling stability the UK’s “most important...
Jeremy Hunt’s time as chancellor has begun with a government u-turn that appears to go against his own instincts, before he has made a single public statement.
A senior Conservative MP has suggested the government should row back on more of the tax cuts outlined in last month’s Growth Plan to “reassure the markets” after weeks of turbulence.
Ministers are set to introduce a cap on renewable energy revenues, aiming to “reduce the impact of unprecedented wholesale prices on consumers” in a move labelled a windfall tax by Labour.
Income tax bands not rising in line with inflation will eclipse the benefit households might expect from tax cuts, meaning the government is effectively “giving with one hand and taking with the...
Kwasi Kwarteng’s hastily rewritten speech at the Conservative Party conference was packed with mentions of growth and the need to bring down the UK tax burden, but commentators have expressed concern...
The government’s ‘Growth Plan’ risks weakening public finances, worsening inequality and leading to the Bank of England aggressively raising interest rates, major international institutions have...
The government’s package of tax cuts aimed at boosting economic activity are unlikely to stimulate enough growth to pay for themselves, and could lead to future tax rises or spending cuts, economists...
Repealing reforms to off-payroll working rules could lead to a return of “widespread non-compliance and significant loss of tax revenues”, compliance experts have said.
New chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced a raft of tax cuts including a reduction in national insurance payments, in a move he said will shift the economy from a “vicious cycle of stagnation into a...
North Yorkshire County Council will be ready to double council tax payments levied on second homes to raise additional funds it hopes would help it address an “affordable housing crisis”, once new...
Councils in Wales could become the first in the UK to get the power to tax overnight visitors in their areas, with proposals now being consulted on that the Welsh Government hopes would protect local...
Proposals to give local authorities flexibility on how they spend levies charged on development projects could give councils the “easy option” to reduce local investment, MPs have warned.
As towns and cities strive to reduce emissions and accommodate a growing shift to electric vehicles, a new challenge has emerged to deliver sufficient chargepoints to meet demand – with some regions...
