Business news and opinion from Evans Weir > Tag: Economy

Following our at-a-glance review of the key budget announcements, here is your downloadable guide with more detailed analysis of the measures that formed the 2024 Autumn Budget.

In the first Labour Budget since 2010, Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered her Autumn 2024 Budget. The speech focused on details of the Government’s planned spending on public services, and the ways in which much needed revenue will be raised. What was clear was that the new Chancellor was keen to start to address some of […]

With the new Labour government taking office earlier this month, and after a rather turbulent few years for the Conservatives, there’s a feeling that some certainly is now in the mix. This should help stabilise the economy and the landscape for business. But what should we expect from the new order? It’s fair to say […]

Scenario planning might feel like an unnecessary step in your business strategy, especially if you run a small business. But it can help you prepare for future uncertainties by considering some possible situations and their consequences. If you’re keen to plan ahead for certain events how should you get started? Step 1 – Research Firstly, […]

The current VAT system has long been criticised as being too complicated. But with an election looming should this be a focus for Government in the coming years, especially in the light of other overly complex tax regimes such as Inheritance Tax which appear to have been sidelined? VAT, or Value Added Tax, is levied […]

Former United States Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld might have called Covid an ‘unknown, unknown.’ Nobody saw it coming and when it arrived nobody knew how to react. It was, in economic terms a black swan. Back to the present day and Mr Rumsfeld would probably say, when considering the outlook for 2024, we have a series of known unknowns facing us.

The VAT threshold, the point at which you must register for VAT, has remained at £85,000 for some time despite the fact we’ve seen double digit inflation. There is now concern that this ceiling is stunting economic growth and may be forcing some business to close their doors. The main issue relates to those businesses that have taken an active decision to remain below the threshold because they fear registering for VAT would make them uncompetitive.

In the next blog in his series, HR specialist, Adam Janering MA MCIPD explains how HR can play a pivotal role in helping companies that are facing severe financial challenges and are considering the options available to them.

On Wednesday 22nd November 2023, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered his Autumn Statement. With an election now on the horizon, he was always going to be hunting for some headlines whilst acknowledging that living costs are still high, inflation is still more than double its target rate of 2%, borrowing and debt remain at near record levels and wars rumble on in Ukraine and the Middle East, creating uncertainty and nervousness in global markets. So, what did he announce and what does it mean for you?

Some positive news has emerged regarding the economy as early Spring marked an upturn in the number of mortgage applications being approved. The figures are encouraging as they come off the back of an extended period of below average lending for house purchases, viewed by the government as one of the mainstays of the British economy.  

How on earth do you deliver an economy boosting budget when there’s no spare cash for headline grabbing giveaways, you have double digit inflation, you may or may not be heading into a recession, there’s war in Europe and the country is still struggling to recover from the impact of Brexit and the Covid pandemic? That was the uphill challenge facing Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, when he stood up on 15th March to deliver his Spring Budget.

The number of companies collapsing into insolvency towards the end of 2022 increased significantly. Having already seen 1,948 businesses closing down in October, the November figure was even higher with 2029 shutting up shop. As well as showing an increasing trend for the year, these figures also represent an alarming jump year-on-year and also when we look back to pre-pandemic statistics.