The government must clarify plans around new customs processes as firms remain in the dark about crucial aspects of their operation, says the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC). The first phase of the UK’s Border Target Operating Model began on 31 January, with imports of plant and animal products now requiring export health certificates. It… Read more…

Artificial intelligence (AI) will affect almost 40% of all jobs around the world and deepen inequality, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned. In a new analysis, IMF researchers examined the potential impact of AI on the global labour market. It found that, in advanced economies, around 60% of jobs may be impacted by AI.… Read more…

Tens of thousands more over 50s are now running their own businesses despite an overall decline in self-employment since 2020, according to the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE). IPSE’s research found that the number of self-employed business owners aged 50 and over increased to 1.1 million in 2023 – 89,000 more than… Read more…

Just 35% of UK adults are confident they could complete the self assessment tax return form correctly, according to research by Standard Life. Three in ten UK adults admit they do not feel confident they could complete the form correctly. A further 18% said they felt neither confident nor unconfident while 17% were not sure.… Read more…

UK inflation fell to a two-year low while the base rate of interest was unchanged by the Bank of England for the second month in a row. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that the UK’s rate of Consumer Price Index inflation fell to 4.6% from 6.7% in September. The ONS found that a… Read more…

The Real Living Wage is set to increase by 10%, the Living Wage Foundation has announced. The rate will rise to £12 an hour across the UK and £13.15 an hour in London. The increase will affect over 460,000 people working for 14,000 Real Living Wage employers across the UK. Unlike the National Living Wage… Read more…

The UK government has agreed an ‘historic’ commitment with 48 countries to combat criminals using crypto assets to evade tax. The landmark agreement follows on from the UK’s tax deal made in 2021 to clamp down on corporate tax avoidance and ‘ensure the right tax is paid in the right place’. The new Crypto-Asset Reporting… Read more…

HMRC is ‘Making Tax Difficult’ for taxpayers as Making Tax Digital (MTD) adds to the burdens they face, according to a report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). The report says that HMRC has lost sight of the need to put taxpayers at the heart of changes to the tax system. The PAC says that… Read more…

The tax cuts announced in the 2023 Autumn Statement won’t prevent tax revenues rising to their highest ever levels, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned. The IFS stated that announcing tax cuts in response to ‘highly uncertain’ changes in assumptions about the UK’s medium-term economic prospects ‘does not feel like a recipe for… Read more…

The changes to National Insurance contributions (NICs) announced by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in the Autumn Statement will help to ‘ease the burden on strivers up and down the country‘, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). Mr Hunt used his Autumn Statement speech to cut the main rate of employee NICs from 12% to… Read more…