The largest overhaul of alcohol duty in 140 years sees drinks taxed by strength rather than category from 1 August. It also sees the introduction of Small Producer Relief, which aims to help small businesses and start-ups create new drinks, innovate and grow. There will be lower taxes on lower alcohol products – those below… Read more…

South Yorkshire has been named as the UK’s first Investment Zone by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt. The status could bring £1.2 billion in funding and see up to 8,000 new jobs created in the area, according to the government. In March, Mr Hunt said 12 new UK Investment Zones would each receive £80 million in government… Read more…

Almost a million young people have yet to access savings contained in Child Trust Funds (CTFs), according to a report by Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC). The PAC said over £1.7 billion is waiting to be claimed by a million young adults, at an average value of £1,900 each. It says ‘failure in long-term planning’… Read more…

A new fuel finder scheme to enable drivers access to live fuel prices and revitalise competition in the retail road fuel market, according to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The scheme would be made possible by new compulsory open data requirements and backed by a new ‘fuel monitor’ oversight body. The proposals are the… Read more…

HMRC has increased interest rates with late payment bills charged 7.5% from 11 July, the highest rate since 2001. The move follows the Bank of England’s June increase in the base rate with HMRC also increasing the rate paid on repayments of tax. The Bank increased the base rate to 5% from 4.5% on 22… Read more…

The UK’s interest rate has been raised to 5.25% by the Bank of England, as it continues to try and bring inflation under control. The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee increased the rate by 0.25% from 5% – the 14th increase in a row. It is a 15-year high for the base rate, which was last… Read more…

The UK’s rate of inflation fell to 7.9% in the year to June while the country’s economy shrank in May, according to the latest Consumer Prices Index (CPI) published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The inflation rate is currently at its lowest annual rate since March 2022, the ONS said. Price rises have… Read more…

Many people choose to run their own business because of the freedom that this offers. Self-employment allows you to make the important decisions yourself and for some this can be preferable over standard employment. However, with this freedom comes a lot of responsibility and often a high workload. This is particularly true for smaller businesses,… Read more…

HMRC has extended the voluntary national insurance contributions (NICs) deadline until 2025. Extending the voluntary NICs deadline until 2025 will give people more time to consider whether paying voluntary contributions is right for them, and also ensures individuals do not miss out on the possibility of boosting their State Pension entitlements. The original deadline was… Read more…

HMRC is planning to close its self assessment tax helpline for three months over the summer to focus call centre resources on dealing with other problem calls. All calls to the helpline will be redirected to digital services over the period to give HMRC time to deal with other more urgent phone enquiries. The helpline… Read more…