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59% of businesses are unprepared for auto-enrolment, a new study from software group IRIS has found. The figure was even higher for businesses with fewer than 100 employees, with 90% not ready for the system. Furthermore, 53% of small and medium-sized...
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An increase in the rate of consumer inflation was recorded in May, rising to 2.7% from the 2.4% recorded in April, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said. One of the largest contributors to the rise was a change in the rate of air transport and...
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A devolution of stamp duty would not only boost the housing market in Wales, but it would also help to stimulate the construction industry, First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones has said. His announcement comes after a report from the Silk Commission, which...
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People in their 60s and 70s have seen a rise in their incomes since the recession, a report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has discovered. The 'Living Standards, Poverty and Inequality in the UK: 2013' report also found that...
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Ahead of the G8 summit today (17 June), an agreement has been reached which will see Great Britain, its overseas territories, and Crown dependencies agree to an international initiative to combat tax evasion and avoidance. An agreement with the leaders of...
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Between 2009-10 and 2010-11, 57% of people aged 16 and over were "relatively satisfied" with their household income, a report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has found. The study aimed to investigate two different measures when it...
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Ahead of the G8 summit, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has called on the Prime Minister David Cameron to take action in regards to reducing worldwide tax avoidance schemes. The TUC said that "warm words will not be enough" and that the G8 and the...
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An increase in remortgage activity has helped gross mortgage lending to grow by 5%, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported. Despite the number of house loan purchases seeing a 0.9% fall in April from the previous month, the number of remortgage...
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A new scheme to rank Britain's retailers on the tax they pay has been supported by the Chair of the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC), The Guardian has reported. Margaret Hodge has voiced her approval of the initiative, created by tax...
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The UK's employment rate for those aged between 16 to 64 has risen by 0.7 percentage points over the last 12 months, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The latest Labour Market report from the ONS shows that some 29.76 million people...
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A number of MPs have made further calls for Google's tax avoidance activity to be investigated, following suggestions that the company's tax arrangements are "highly contrived". The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report...
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Over 1.4 million employers are using PAYE schemes in real time following the launch of new reporting requirements in April, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has reported. Some 83% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are doing so, whereas 77% of micro...
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Bermuda's unwillingness to sign an international tax transparency convention has potentially made a broad deal on the matter more unlikely. Speaking to Reuters yesterday (12 June), Bermuda's Premier Craig Cannonier said that the nation is prepared to...
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Thames Water paid no corporation tax in the last financial year, despite making £549 million in underlying pre-tax profits and receiving £5 million in credit from the Treasury. The UK's biggest water company saw revenues rise in the tax year...
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Workers have seen their wages fall at a faster rate in the past five years than in any other comparable five-year period, the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) reports. Productivity levels have also fallen, but employment has dropped by much less than in...
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A number of measures have been introduced to make consumer rights easier to understand, Consumer Minister Jo Swinson has revealed. It is expected the initiative will help to boost the UK economy by £4 billion in the next decade. The draft Consumer...
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Intentions for London to become 'the best big city in the world' have been unveiled by Mayor of London Boris Johnson. Mr Johnson announced his vision about how growth in the capital could help to further drive the UK economy at an event at City Hall...
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The National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB) has revealed it intends to support the Government in providing funds for UK SMEs in order to encourage growth and the creation of employment opportunities. The NACFB has 93 different lenders to...
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Small business growth should be at the heart of the upcoming Spending Review, as investment could help firms to maintain their strength in the economy, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has said. This could encourage the further creation of jobs and...
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With MPs set to conduct a debate about whether or not to allow tribunal fees to become law in July, the Trades Union Congress ( TUC ) has made one last plea to the Government to scrap any plans to implement this. The move would see a number of workers who...
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Quantitative Easing (QE) will not be increased, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has decided. It is a move which will be the last decision made under Sir Mervyn King's spell as chairman. The announcement will come as no surprise to most economists and...
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Exemptions from new regulations, which are currently in place for businesses with under ten employees, are set to be extended for those with up to 50 staff, Michael Fallon and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills have said. The Business Minister...
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A leading analyst at Societe Generale has criticised the Chancellor's flagship Help-to-Buy scheme, describing it as "misguided" and "moronic". The scheme is intended to provide a boost to the housing market and increase lending...
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The Government has pledged to increase the support it is currently giving to small businesses. At a special event at 10 Downing Street, held to celebrate the positive impact that small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) have on the UK economy, Prime Minister...
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Well-off households were hit harder at the start of the recession, whereas poorer households were protected by benefits systems, according to the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS). However, it suggested that poorer households will suffer more when...
