Budget 2018 – At a glance

Business Small retail businesses in England will see business rates reduced by a third. The annual investment allowance is to rise five-fold from £200,000 to £1 million for two years. Reforms to individuals working under IR35 are to be extended to the private sector...

Philip Hammond considers abolishing dividend allowance

According to a report published in The Daily Telegraph, Chancellor Philip Hammond is considering abolishing the dividend allowance in the upcoming Autumn Budget. The treasury previously cut the allowance from £5,000 to £2,000 in the Spring Statement 2017 and...

IPPR calls for inheritance tax to be abolished

  A think tank is calling for inheritance tax to be abolished as part of a set of proposals for major reform to the UK tax system. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) published its 10-part plan for economic reform, which includes replacing the system...

Apprenticeships fall by 31%

The Department for Education has said that the number of people starting apprenticeships has dropped by 31% in the last 12 months. In the academic year between August 2017 and May 2018, there were 315,900 apprenticeship starts, compared to 457,200 the same time the...

Plans to abolish class 2 NICs are scrapped

  Plans to abolish class 2 national insurance contributions (NICs) have been scrapped by Chancellor Philip Hammond. The Government was originally due to abolish class 2 NICs for the self-employed from the 6 April 2018, but the move was delayed for 12 months in...