Scottish Government’s income tax rates are progressive, but unnecessarily complicated by taxation bands that are too similar, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
The government is to retrospectively ban business rates appeals based on a drop in property values due to Covid-19, a move labelled as “scandalous” by rating advisers.
A government consultation on business rates has found widespread opposition to its replacement by a capital values tax – but the idea of an online service tax got a warmer welcome.
Anticipated council tax losses for local authorities in England resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic are now more than a third lower initial expectations.
Inner London council tax bills will see the biggest percentage increase of any region in England in 2021-22, due to a 9.5% increase in the precept for the Greater London Authority.
Rishi Sunak's plans rely on an optimistic vision of the future and implausible spending targets, say Institute for Fiscal Studies research economists Ben Zaranko and Isabel Stockton.
Medium-term cuts to public sector spending outlined in the Budget could see a return to austerity for some departments including justice and local government, an economist has warned.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced planned tax measures – phased in over the next four years – which will see the UK’s tax burden rise to the highest level since the late 1960s.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak should not increase taxes in this week’s Budget, as they could undermine the Covid-19 recovery, the Treasury Select Committee has warned.
Reforms and increases to the tax base which could raise up to £55bn a year should be implemented as part of the upcoming Budget, according to a leading think tank.
Tax fraud costs the public purse around ten times as much as benefit fraud. So why does the government employ three times as many people to tackle the latter, asks TaxWatch’s George Turner.
A rise in corporation tax and extensions to the Universal Credit uplift and furlough scheme are among potential government Budget moves being reported in the national press. PF rounds up the rumours.
Councils in England face setting aside an additional £2bn to help cover business rates appeals over the next two financial years due to Covid-19, unless central government support is forthcoming.
The Scottish Government has will extend the 100% business rates holiday for the whole of the next financial year, following further UK government funding.
The UK government might have to raise up to £60bn in taxes to offset Covid-19 expenses, though tax changes should be avoided in next month’s Budget, an economist has warned.
New legalisation passed by Stormont will allow local authorities to set independent tax rates, giving councils the flexibility to tailor rates to local needs.
Covid-19 has left councils more than £1bn short of their expected council tax revenues. But what explains the wide variation among collection levels between different authorities? Kate Ogden, local...
The government does not know enough about the overall impact of environmental taxes on its carbon neutrality goals, according to the National Audit Office.
Treasury officials are looking into the implementation of an online sales tax and an ‘excessive profit’ levy, in response to the increase in online shopping resulting from Covid-19, according to...
Chancellor Rishi Sunak needs to think very carefully about the potentially damaging consequences of scrapping council tax and replacing it with a new national property tax, says Jessica Studdert...
Local government spending power will be around two percentage points lower than the 4.6% trailed by the government in the final funding settlement announced yesterday, according to a local government...
Councils expect to collect £1.3bn less council tax in 2020-21 than they forecast before Covid-19 hit, after the crisis damaged some households’ ability to pay bills, according to the Institute for...
