Just a few days short of the third anniversary of the first Covid lockdown, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt rose to the Despatch Box to deliver the first full Budget to have taken place in 504 days and the first unaffected by the immediate impact of the pandemic since October 2018.

The Autumn Statement 2022 comes at a time of significant challenge for the UK, alongside the rest of the world, which has faced damaging economic shocks due to the pandemic, Brexit, and the illegal war in Ukraine. The fourth Chancellor of the Exchequer for 2022, Jeremy Hunt, pledged to face the “£55 billion black hole”

With a new King at the Palace and a new Prime Minister at Number 10, it was no surprise that the new Chancellor at Number 11 used his first statement to the House of Commons to signal a “new era” for fiscal policy. It turned out to be a striking change of direction, as the

Small businesses are the lifeblood of the UK economy, but with rapid inflation and other economic headwinds making trade difficult, they can struggle to access support. There is a wide range of important tax reliefs available to SMEs, which could provide some much-needed financial assistance. Employment Allowance claims This scheme allows eligible businesses to reduce

Changes to charges and penalties applied to late submission of VAT returns will kick in from January next year. For the VAT period starting on or after 1 January 2023, new penalties will replace the default surcharge for returns submitted or paid late. Any VAT returns received late will also be subject to late submission

New legislation allows HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to recover Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) grants that have been overclaimed. Those who fall foul of the legislation could face interest charges, financial penalties and even be named and shamed. If a business overclaimed a CJRS grant and has not repaid it, it needs to inform the tax

A leading business organisation has highlighted the problems faced by the industry after new figures show a steep rise in business costs. According to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), producer input price inflation stands at a record-high 18.6% and the consumer prices index at 9%. It says the disparity between the two

Research from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) shows that successful applications for finance among members have dropped to the lowest level on record. Conversely, figures from the Bank of England show the annual growth rate of lending to big corporates has increased significantly since the start of the year. It has led to the