social and politics

Autumn Statement: Pensions raid will hit 340,000 high earners

George Osborne yesterday announced he was cutting the tax-free amount an individual can put into their pension each year from £50,000 to £40,000.




social and politics

Autumn Statement: Postponed 3p fuel rise is scrapped for good

Motorists celebrated after months of lobbying by campaigners as George Osborne told MPs he was axing the planned January rise.




social and politics

Autumn Statement: Mansion tax snub for Clegg - Labour frontbenchers mock Clegg and Cable as Osborne humiliates Lib Dems

Labour frontbenchers mocked Nick Clegg, pictured, and his Lib Dem colleagues as George Osborne dashed their hopes of introducing a 'mansion tax' in his Autumn Statement.




social and politics

RUTH SUNDERLAND on AUTUMN STATEMENT: Chancellor's firepower to help firms fight back against the slump

George Osborne hoisted an 'Open for Business' sign over Britain with a multi-billion pound package to help firms fight back against the slump at home and the troubles in the eurozone.




social and politics

Autumn Statement: Osborne's big squeeze: 400,000 more workers to be snared in 40% tax trap

The number in the 40 per cent tax band is expected to rise from 3.8million today by another 400,000 over the next three years, the Treasury said yesterday.




social and politics

HUGO DUNCAN on AUTUMN STATEMENT: Chill winds whistle through UK economy as forecasts are downgraded again

The Treasury watchdog was forced on Wednesday to defend its reputation after it again downgraded its forecasts for the British economy and the public finances.




social and politics

Autumn Statement: Union fury as heads win power to freeze salaries

Annual rises for teachers will be scrapped and heads given almost complete freedom to dictate salary increases in the shake-up outlined in the Autumn Statement.




social and politics

AUTUMN STATEMENT: Tax relief cut on pensions

The changes will come into force in 2014/15 and are expected to bring thousands more well-off savers into tax on their pension contributions, generating an extra £1 billion in tax by 2016/17.




social and politics

Osborne's Autumn Statement: key points at a glance

We round up the main announcements in the Chancellor's speech and explore the devil in the detail to see how tax and spending changes affect you.




social and politics

Autumn Statement: Middle-classes dragged into pension tax trap

Adele Collinson, pictured, owns an arts and crafts busines and worries the new cap on tax-free pension contributions will hit her retirement plans.




social and politics

ANDY YATES: George Osborne just doesn't mean business with his Autumn Statement

Osborne claims the UK is open for business but beyond the hyperbole his budget statement has closed the door on chances to stimulate growth, says one entrepreneur.




social and politics

Autumn statement 2012: Osborne puts 400,000 middle-class workers into 40% tax band

George Osborne targeted workers at the top, middle and bottom of the financial heap in his Autumn statement yesterday with a raft of money-saving measures.




social and politics

Autumn statement: Osborne accused of 'mummy tax' on maternity pay and squeezing struggling families with child benefit rise of just 20p a week

The 'mummy tax' accusations came after it emerged the Chancellor will impose a real terms cut on statutory maternity pay.




social and politics

Autumn Statement: Labour refuses to back 1% cap on benefits rises but minister insists the era of the 'generous' welfare state is over

Pensions minister Steve Webb (pictured) warned the state of the public finances meant 'difficult decisions' had to be taken, and challenged Labour to back them.




social and politics

Autumn statement: Osborne accused of 'mummy tax' on maternity pay and squeezing struggling families with child benefit rise of just 20p a week

The 'mummy tax' accusations came after it emerged the Chancellor will impose a real terms cut on statutory maternity pay.




social and politics

Ed Balls plays sympathy card as he blames his STAMMER for muddled Autumn Statement response

The Shadow Chancellor - who dressed as Santa for the Westminster Kids Club Christmas party - was jeered in the Commons after declaring that the deficit was coming down before changing his mind.




social and politics

'Bungling Balls' has destroyed chances of leading Labour after lacklustre response to Osborne's Autumn statement, claims fellow opposition MP

Bassetlaw MP John Mann said the Shadow Chancellor’s response to the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement had damaged Mr Balls’s leadership prospects – and made Mr Miliband’s position secure.




social and politics

BBC's Andrew Neil nowhere to be seen on Budget Day but will return for the 'more important' Autumn Statement

Where was the BBC’s Daily Politics presenter, Andrew Neil, on Budget Day? Apparently the Budget is viewed as a state occasion by the BBC. And thus the exclusive preserve of Edwards.




social and politics

Osborne can look forward to conference and Autumn Statement

Knowing exactly what has unlocked Britain’s recovery is hard to determine. But the elements have been in place for some time.




social and politics

Chancellor George Osborne set to cut small firms' taxes in Autumn statement

Treasury sources said the Chancellor will have to ‘make a decision’ on what to do about business rate relief as it is due to expire next year.




social and politics

What the Autumn Statement should say

To reclaim the high ground, Mail City Editor Alex Brummer suggests the speech Osborne needs to make from his dispatch box.




social and politics

Osborne orders ANOTHER £3billion in cuts to pay for Autumn Statement giveaways

The Chancellor told the Cabinet they must reduce spending every year for the next three years, as he prepared to set out a highly-political statement to the Commons.




social and politics

Autumn Statement 2013: In your 20s? You may have to wait 50 years for a pension

Anyone currently in their 40s or younger would be affected by the move, which will see the state pension age rise as the average person lives longer.




social and politics

LIVE BLOG: Analysis, reaction, and the verdict on the Autumn Statement

As George Osborne speaks and throughout the day This is Money will be live blogging analysis, reaction, charts and data and what people are saying on social media.




social and politics

Autumn Statement 2013: What does the City say?

Osborne has given the first cheerful update in his time as Chancellor, as he raised growth forecasts and cut borrowing predictions today. We round up City reaction.




social and politics

Autumn Statement 2013: Stamp duty on shares bought in ETFs to be ditched

The rate paid by ETF providers is currently 0.5 per cent but this will be ditched in April 2014, Chancellor George Osborne revealed in his Autumn Statement today.




social and politics

Autumn Statement 2013: Planned fuel tax hike scrapped

Hard-pressed motorists have been told that a planned 2p a litre fuel duty rise will not happen next September in the Chancellor's Autumn Statement today.




social and politics

Autumn Statement 2013: Driverless car testing could soon hit the UK

In today’s Autumn Statement, the Government said it would conduct a review to be completed by the end of 2014 to ensure that Britain can help develop and test driverless cars.




social and politics

Autumn Statement 2013: New Isa limits announced for next year

Experts had claimed that the lifetime limit could be capped at £100,000 – a figure that seasoned savers may have already reached - but that has not transpired.




social and politics

Autumn Statement 2013: NS&I given green light to take in more cash from savers

NS&I has been given a higher financing target for the financial year Chancellor George Osborne revealed in the Autumn Statement today.




social and politics

RUTH SUNDERLAND: Autumn Statement does little to address issues holding small businesses back

George Osborne did not address problems such as low levels of investment, lack of access to finance, and high energy costs.




social and politics

Autumn Statement 2013: Chancellor aiming to halt tax avoidance as he launches £9bn crackdown on schemes that scrimp the Treasury

George Osborne described the crackdown as the 'largest package of measures to tackle tax avoidance, tax evasion, fraud and error so far this parliament'.




social and politics

Autumn Statement 2013: George Osborne to plead for more time to fix nation's finances despite stronger economic growth

The Chancellor unveiled a raft of upbeat data pointing to the recovery gaining momentum, with record numbers in work, borrowing falling and house prices forecast to soar by 5.2 per cent next year.




social and politics

Mac on... the Autumn Statement

'Hello. I think Lucinda is making an Autumn Statement.'




social and politics

AUTUMN STATEMENT: Robot fund tax unplugged

George Osborne revealed that the 0.5 per cent stamp duty savers have to pay for buying shares in UK-based exchange-traded funds will be abolished from next April.




social and politics

AUTUMN STATEMENT: Government to clamp down on firms hiring 'disguised' staff to avoid paying national insurance

Many employers are hiring staff on contracts where they are classed as self employed, even if they are full-time employees.




social and politics

Half of voters think George Osborne's Autumn Statement was bad for them

In a blow for the Chancellor who used the Autumn Statement to unveil a raft of populist giveaways, 60 per cent thought it was good for ‘rich people’.




social and politics

Autumn Statement 2013 retirees can 'buy' extra state pension

Chancellor George Osborne has announced that pensioners will get the chance to boost their incomes in a six month window between October 2015 and April 2016.




social and politics

Autumn Statement 2013: Is the Chancellor planning another raid on pension savers?

With this year's statement imminent, pension experts are pleading for a grace period for an industry that has undergone wide-ranging regulatory changes in recent years.




social and politics

Autumn Statement 2013: How state pension ages have risen again

The age at which people can claim their state pension will rise to 68 in the mid-2030s, 69 in the late-2040s and future rises will be linked to life expectancy.




social and politics

Call for Osborne to offer tax breaks for the self-employed in Autumn Statement

Call for a freelancer limited company structure to be set up within the tax system and for training for a new career to be tax deductable.




social and politics

ALEX BRUMMER: Energy moves to centre stage as George Osborne prepares Autumn statement

Oil price decline provides a key backcloth to the budget. It will keep downward pressure on inflation, and offers the prospect that the decline in real earnings could start to be reversed.




social and politics

George Osborne rules out traditional pre-election giveaways in Autumn statement 

The Chancellor insists there will be no political tax breaks because Britain must ‘stay the course to prosperity’.




social and politics

What cards are left up your sleeve, George? Households hoping for 'surprise' announcements in Wednesday's Autumn Statement 

Households up and down the country are hoping Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne will come up with a couple of ‘surprise’ announcements.




social and politics

George Osborne suffers setback on eve of Autumn Statement as British builders hit by worst month for more than year

The purchasing managers’ index of activity in the UK construction sector dipped from 61.4 in October to 59.4 in November, which is still well above the 50 mark that divides growth and decline.




social and politics

George Osborne has little room for giveaways in Autumn Statement

The annual deficit has fallen from the record £153bn racked up by Labour in 2009-10 to £97.5bn last year, but progress has now all but stalled as tax receipts disappoint.




social and politics

FATHOM CONSULTING ECONOMIST: Giveaways unlikely in Autumn Statement

George Osborne's comments while delivering the 2013 Budget revived his fortunes. But it was only a confidence trick. Now, with an election just around the corner, the Chancellor is in a bind.




social and politics

Autumn Statement 2014: Will the Chancellor surprise us with a cut to inheritance tax or stamp duty?

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has very little room for manouevre in today's Autumn Statement.




social and politics

AUTUMN STATEMENT 2014: Pension income from spouse's annuity tax-free if they died before 75

Annuities which come with death benefits can be passed to loved ones tax-free if you die aged under 75, the Chancellor announced in the Autumn statement.




social and politics

AUTUMN STATEMENT 2014 AT A GLANCE: Key points of George Osborne's speech

Income tax free personal allowance to rise to £10,600 rather than the planned £10,500 next year. Higher rate income tax threshold to rise to £42,385 next year.