The Plymouth and South Devon freeport has received final government approval. It will now receive up to £25 million in seed funding to help boost investment and support the growth of regional businesses. Freeports benefit from a range of measures, including tax reliefs, customs advantages, business rates retention, planning, regeneration and trade and investment support.… Read more…

Over half of UK companies currently face difficulties in adapting to the new rules for trading goods with the EU, according to a British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) survey. The survey also found that 77% of respondents who exported were unable to identify any growth as a result of the rule changes. The post-Brexit trade… Read more…

The Bank of England (BoE) has raised UK interest rates by half a percentage point to 3.5%. It is the ninth consecutive increase and takes the base rate to its highest level for 14 years as the Bank battles to stem soaring prices. The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 6-3 in favour of putting… Read more…

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced that the Spring Budget will be delivered on 15 March 2023. Mr Hunt stated that he has commissioned the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to prepare an economic forecast to accompany the Budget. The Spring Budget will be the Chancellor’s second fiscal event, following November’s Autumn Statement. Mr Hunt used… Read more…

The Mortgage Guarantee Scheme will be extended by a year to the end of December 2023, helping people with 5% deposits on to the property ladder, the UK government has announced. Under the scheme, the government offers lenders the financial guarantees they need to provide mortgages that cover the other 95%, subject to the usual… Read more…

Tax non-compliance during the pandemic cost the UK government £9 billion, according to a report from the National Audit Office (NAO). HMRC redeployed around 1,350 workers to Covid-19 support schemes throughout 2020/21, shrinking the number of those working on tax compliance, the NAO said. This reduced the tax authority’s capacity to investigate people and businesses… Read more…

The Treasury has announced that Making Tax Digital for income tax self assessment (MTD for ITSA) will be delayed for two more years until April 2026. MTD for ITSA was due to take effect from April 2024 and would have required all self-employed individuals and landlords with income over £10,000 to report earnings quarterly through… Read more…

The birth of a business can come in many forms but most involve that same spark of entrepreneurial creativity. Whether it’s an invention, a product or service that solves a problem or just a gut feeling that you can offer something different, there are so many ways to begin. Ingenuity, enthusiasm and drive are all… Read more…

The UK’s tax burden will rise after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt reduced the threshold on the top rate of tax and announced freezes on other taxes in the Autumn Statement. The threshold for the top 45% additional rate of income tax was cut to £125,140 from £150,000. The government is also fixing other personal tax thresholds… Read more…

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) praised Chancellor Jeremy Hunt for ‘delivering stability and protecting the most vulnerable‘ in the Autumn Statement. The business group welcomed the freeze in business rates and extra support for those facing higher bills. Additionally, it said that staying the course on R&D spending and major infrastructure will give a… Read more…