Autumn Budget summary latest: Jeremy Hunt ‘shielding super-rich’ by keeping non-dom tax loophole

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Chancellor admits the government made ‘some mistakes’ with mini-Budget

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Rishi Sunak and his chancellor Jeremy Hunt have been accused of shielding the super-rich from paying their fair share of tax by refusing to abolish the non-dom loophole.

The chancellor insisted on Friday that it would be the “wrong thing” to end the controversial arrangement for those who live in the UK but pay no tax on their offshore income, and disputed claims that doing so could raise £3bn each year – arguing he “would rather they stayed here and spent their money here” than move abroad.

Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer accused the government of having “gone after working people” with tax hikes while doing “nothing about non-dom status”, telling broadcasters during a vist to Swindon: “The super-rich are not paying their taxes in this country.”

Shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Pat McFadden said the Conservatives were refusing “to make fairer choices”, adding: “They continue to shield non-doms from paying their fair share of tax in Britain, leaving billions on the table.”

Key PointsShow latest update 1668797137Voices | Part of the ‘squeezed middle’? There are ways you might be able to save money

Writing for Independent Voices, the managing director of consumer group Fairer Finance, James Daley, suggests that “for those who are not in dire straits – there’s lots that can be done to make what [funds] you have go further, and to try and earn a little more”.

He writes: “Making the right decisions with your mortgage, your energy bills, your insurance, your broadband and mobile phone bills can make an enormous difference to your monthly outgoings.”

“… Looking at every pound of other spending you do each month is also a good exercise. You may find there are subscriptions you forgot about – or realize just how much you can save each month by making your own lunches or cycling to work.

And if you’ve been in your job a while, it’s not a bad time to see whether you can get a pay rise by moving elsewhere. One of the oddities of our current economic situation is that although we are in recession, unemployment is at historic lows due to a shortage of labor.”

Andy Gregory18 November 2022 18:45

1668795806 Sunak ‘to scale back morning ministerial media appearances’

Rishi Sunak appears set to reduce the number of appearances government ministers make on the airwaves, with reported plans to end the current practice of frontbenchers being quizzed on TV and radio every morning.

The move was first reported by the Daily Mirror, which said the government will provide a minister to be interviewed around three mornings every week, with a focus instead on appearing when there is an “announcement”.

The daily broadcast round typically sees a minister appear on BBC Breakfast, Good Morning Britain, BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, and other outlets to answer questions and defend the government each weekday morning.

It is understood that Downing Street will take a “flexible” approach to appearances, with sources rejecting the suggesting the move amounts to an axing of the broadcast round.

Dominic McGrath18 November 2022 18:23

1668794557Backbencher’s bill clears Commons in single sitting for first time since 1998

A proposed law change has cleared the House of Commons in a single sitting for the first time in more than 20 years – instead taking a mere “three minutes and 11 seconds”, according to the deputy speaker.

Tory former minister Sir Christopher Chope’s Mobile Homes (Pitch Fees) Bill was given a series of short unopposed readings in a single sitting of the Commons.

The private member’s bill is aimed at reforming how charges for pitching mobile homes are calculated. It would change how pitch fee reviews rise in line with inflation to lower costs for mobile homeowners, moving from the Retail Prices Index to the Consumer Prices Index.

All bills introduced into parliament are usually scrutinized over several stages in the Commons during the course of a year. But Sir Christopher’s Bill passed through all its stages unopposed in one sitting, with Commons deputy speaker Dame Eleanor Laing remarking on the extreme shortness of its passage.

Agreeing with an observation by Sir Christopher that it marked the first time since 1998 that a private member’s bill progressed through all of its stages in one sitting, Dame Eleanor added, to laughter from MPs: “Many a worthy bill has appeared to have support of all members [MPs] but one.

It is noted that this particular bill is brought by that very member and its worthiness has therefore outweighed its procedural position. Interesting and notable.”

Andy Gregory18 November 2022 18:02

1668793237John Rentoul | If the autumn statement got a bad press does that mean it was good?

Focusing on the reaction to yesterday’s autumn statement by chancellor Jeremy Hunt, our chief political commentator John Rentoul asks whether the quality of a Budget may be in inverse proportion to its initial reception by the media.

He points to an observation by political scientist Professor Philip Cowley, who suggested today – in what he labeled “sort of a joke, and sort of not” – that “the usual rule with Budgets is that those immediately lauded by the media turn out to be disasters”, adding: “On that basis, and having seen today’s headlines, yesterday was pure genius.”

For his part, John writes: “What is striking about the coverage of Hunt’s statement is the absence of any credible alternative policy that the government should be following. No one likes higher taxes, but the opposite policy has just been tried in a real-world experiment that blew up the chemistry lab.

“ … When historians look back at the 2022 autumn statement, they are likely to see it as a necessary first step in coming to terms with some rather bigger problems than a nation facing a temporary, if sharp, dip in living standards. But I doubt if it will be hailed as a work of genius.”

Andy Gregory18 November 2022 17:40

1668791977 Tory MPs call for renters to be allowed to keep pets

Conservative MPs have urged the government to allow renters to keep pets in their homes, during a debate around a private member’s bill aimed at creating greater regulation of supported housing aimed at vulnerable people.

Vet and Tory MP Dr Neil Hudson stressed that keeping animals was important to help people with their mental health, telling the Commons: “I know as a dog owner myself, I know the impacts that animals have on people’s lives, the importance of people to have animals in accommodation.

“I know I have worked with ministers in terms of various types of legislation that we want the ability for people in the rental sector to be able to have pets in their accommodation.

“If you are a responsible pet owner you should be allowed to have a pet there to give you that companionship to help your mental health, to help the health of that animal, and that is something that I think we can move forward with as well.” .”

The government has considered giving tenants more rights to keep pets in recent years, with ministers setting out plans which would allow tenants to challenge their landlords if they refuse a request to keep a pet in a June white paper titled “A Fairer Private Rented Sector” .

Andy Gregory18 November 2022 17:19

1668791137 Martin Lewis reveals three hours to avoid using washing machine

Martin Lewis has advised people not to use their washing machines during certain times to try and avoid the chance of blackouts, after the National Grid warned there could be power outages on “really, really cold” winter days.

This could happen if energy supplies from Europe prove insufficient due to the disruption of the war in Ukraine, the energy grid’s boss said last moth.

The MoneySavingExpert founder appeared on ITV’s This Morning where he suggested how this could be best avoided. My colleague Zoe Tidman reports:

Andy Gregory18 November 2022 17:05

1668790232Voices | If the Tories ever governed again after 2024, it would be too soon

In his latest piece, our political sketch writer Tom Peck suggests that, if Rishi Sunak, Jeremy Hunt and their conservative forebears have paid attention to the post-Budget analysis of Institute for Fiscal Studies director Paul Johnson, “then they might as well give up and go home.”

In his analysis, Mr Johnson said: “I would be most surprised if the tax burden gets back down to its long-term pre-Covid average at any time in the next several decades. Higher taxes and a bigger state look to me to be here to stay unless something quite radical changes.”

Tom notes that “that these are the words not of an activist, but a studiously impartial assessor of economic reality”, adding: “It is a polite, accurate and devastating assessment of a decade of staggeringly bad government, of failure on a colossal scale .”

You can read his analysis in full here:

Andy Gregory18 November 2022 16:50

1668789063 Government pledges to consider new protections for terminally ill workers

Business minister George Freeman has promised to consider further employment protections for those with terminal illnesses, after such a move was proposed in a Private Member’s Bill brought to the Commons by Labor’s Alex Cunningham.

Mr Cunningham said his Terminal Illness (Support and Rights) Bill would provide a “protected period” where those with a terminal illness could not be dismissed as a result of their condition, and included measures to help those “thought to be in the last year of life” to get help with their utility bills.

The measures would “provide those living with terminal illnesses with much-needed additional financial support, without costing the checker a penny”, Mr Cunningham argued.

The government did not commit to supporting the bill, but the business minister promised to work with Mr Cunningham, and “convene a group of the key ministers” from his department as well as from the work and pensions and health departments to tackle the employment issues raised.

Andy Gregory18 November 2022 16:31

1668787543 Starmer says Tories have made ‘wrong choices’ by imposing ‘stealth taxes’ on public

Starmer says Tories have made ‘wrong choices’ by imposing ‘stealth taxes’ on public

Maryam Zakir-Hussain18 November 2022 16:05

1668786529 Business rates slashed by millions for busy high-street shops and hotels

Big high-street shops and hotels are set to save millions from tumbling taxes as the Treasury unveiled a package of support on business rates in Thursday’s autumn statement.

Iconic British department stores like Harrods and Selfridges and hotels like the Savoy and the Ritz will see their business rates bills slashed by up to half as a result of the new measures.

As part of the autumn statement, the Treasury announced a shake-up to business rates which will provide tax boosts for many high street businesses, with large warehouses for online rivals taking more of the cost.

This could amount to combined savings of around £15 million for Harrods and Selfridges, according to analysis from real estate adviser Altus Group.

It comes as the government said there would be a revaluation of more than half a million retail properties across England and Wales, meaning the rate of business tax they pay could change.

Furthermore, the chancellor pledged to remove the downwards cap – meaning businesses who see falling business rates bills as a result of revaluation will benefit from the decrease straight away.

Jerry Schurder, the business rates policy lead at Gerald Eve, said that it is an influential and highly anticipated change for businesses up and down the country.

“In the past, companies whose bills should be going down were not allowed to see those cuts immediately, which businesses have said is very unfair.

“Retail, leisure and hospitality businesses have really struggled since Covid and the transition to online shopping, and they said they should be able to see their bills go down immediately.”

Maryam Zakir-Hussain18 November 2022 15:48

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