Business

Rachel Reeves has chosen to break Labour's key election promise, says Alex Evans (Image: Getty)“Labour will not increase taxes on working people.” That was the key promise by which Labour was handed a mandate by the British people.Since then, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has fudged along the edges of that pledge, increasing employer National Insurance and arguing about the definitions of working people.But one policy, announced in the Budget in November and set to apply to the new tax year starting in April, is the most clear and obvious violation of that promise to date: the freeze on the tax-free Personal Allowance.This is the amount of money working people can earn before they have to begin surrendering some of their earnings to HM Revenue and Customs in the form of Income Tax. READ MORE...

HMRC is bringing in a new tax on pensions (Image: Getty)A major tax change on pensions being brought in by HMRC risks catching many people off guard. A wealth planner has warned many people could become liable for the levy without knowing it.Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in her first Autumn Budget a series of major changes to expand inheritance tax, which is levied at a standard rate of 40 per cent. Some of these changes will come in from April 2026, when the exemptions for paying the tax on agricultural property and business assets will be restricted.The Government also announced it will expand the remit of the tax to include most unused pension funds and death benefits, which are currently not liable for the levy. This change will come in from April 2027. Chartered financial plan...

Lloyds Bank has issued an update about a major change to its bank account rules. The new message comes after the group announced a restriction on its accounts.The bank has brought in a change meaning you can no longer open certain types of bank account over the counter in a branch, as staff will no longer be able to set one up for you. Instead, staff will direct customers to open their account online or in the app.This includes when opening a joint account, a premium account, a student account, or an executor account. If you want to switch your account from another provider, you will also need to do this online. Staff can help guide you through the process, but you will need to do it yourself.Critics of the move fear this is another sign of the decline of in-person branch services. Lloy...

President Donald Trump addresses the American people following strikes by the U.S. and Israel on Iran. The fallout of the joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran led to the highest-ever activity on X, the platform's owner Elon Musk confirmed on Sunday. Musk made the statement in reply to Nikita Bier, the head of product at X. Bier stated on Saturday that the day had been "the biggest day on X in history.""Highest usage of X ever," Musk replied. The exchange came after the U.S. and Israel conducted airstrikes and drone attacks on multiple targets across Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatolla Ali Khamenei as well as several other top Iranian officials, including the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). AMERICA STRIKES IRAN AGAIN — HAS WASHINGTON PLANNED FOR WHAT COMES NEXT?...

The DWP is launching a Crisis and Resilience Fund to support households from April 1 (Image: Getty)The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed that new cost-of-living payments will be rolled out to eligible households in England after March.A new Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) will be made available to local authorities across England from April 1 to support low-income households in the new tax year. Councils will receive a total of £1 billion worth of funding to cover the period from April 1, 2026, to March 31, 2029, and the new fund will replace the DWP's current Household Support Fund, which ends on March 31. The DWP said the new scheme will bring together Discretionary Housing Payments into a single, streamlined grant, and the new simplified approach will help to redu...

Cash ISA limits are set to be slashed under new rules, but not until April 2027. For April 2026, next month, the limits will remain the same as before, at £20,000 per financial year.Chancellor Rachel Reeves changed Cash ISA rules so that from next year, savers won't be able to deposit more than £12,000 of tax-free cash. The £20,000 overall limit will still be in place, but savers will be forced to keep at least £8,000 of the money in a Stocks and Shares ISA instead, in a bid to boost investing. For older investers aged over 60, an exemption is in place so that pensioners don't need to put money away in shares.But with the limit for cash remaining at £20,000 for one more tax year, those with cash to hand have been given the green light to save up to another £40,000 between now and next A...

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., argues Google is committing election interference by suppressing search results for the failed Trump assassination on 'The Big Money Show.' Thirty years ago, Congress passed Section 230 to help fragile internet start-ups survive litigation attempts on multiple fronts. In 1996, Americans logged on with dial-up modems and gathered on message boards. Lawmakers wanted to protect burgeoning companies from crushing defamation, copyright, and other lawsuits over something a random user posted. Congress aimed to nurture innovation, protect free speech, and let a competitive marketplace flourish. That may have made sense then. Today it does not.What Congress framed as a narrow free-speech shield became a permanent amnesty program for trillion-dollar Silicon Vall...

Martin Lewis shared some tips about retirement (Image: ITV)Martin Lewis has spoken about a "great" financial product that pensioners and those planning for their retirement may want to consider. On a recent episode of his BBC podcast, he asked his fans to send in their top tips for retirement.Listeners sent in a range of suggestions, from making sure you have a plan in place for when you retire, to staying physically fit so you can enjoy you golden years. There were some words of wisdom about finances as well, to make sure you have enough funds to see you through your retirement.One person who works as a wealth planner wrote in to warn those thinking of taking out an annuity. They advised people not to go for a level annuity but rather to choose an inflation-linked option, given the hig...

Rachel Reeves has been keeping a low profile – that won't wash anymore (Image: Getty)Labour held the Gorton and Denton seat for more than a century. Not anymore. Jack Polanski's cynical and sectarian Green Party swept them into third place in last week's controversial by-election and Labour MPs are in meltdown. They can see the same thing happening in their own constituencies, come the next election. Even Starmer may struggle to keep his seat.Only one person can save them. That person is Rachel Reeves. Don’t laugh. She’s a key reason why Labour is in this black pit of despair. But she's also the only one with the spade to dig them out of it. Which only goes to show how bad things have got.Everyone’s miserable and angry, and our flatlining economy is a big reason. People feel skint and f...

Tesco Bank has announced an interest rate rise for its popular Instant Access Cash ISA, giving millions of savers the chance to boost their tax-free returns. The rate has increased from 3.91% to 3.97%, and the offer applies to both new and existing customers. The change, effective from February 24, comes at a time when many savers are searching for the best deals before the end of the financial year.Cash ISAs allow people to save up to £20,000 each tax year without paying tax on the interest, and many banks, including Tesco Bank, let customers open an account with as little as £1. Instant access also means savings can be withdrawn at any time. Tesco Bank says interest in Cash ISAs is rising ahead of the cash ISA limit reducing in April 2027.New research commissioned by the bank found th...