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Nick Gutteridge Chief Political Correspondent |
Treasury officials have spent the past week calming suggestions that John Healey is going to hit businesses with big tax rises this month.
Mandarins have broken their months-long silence on Budget preparations to reject rumours that the Chancellor will hit companies with a warehouse tax or punish wealth by equalising capital gains tax with income tax.
For all the focus on big-ticket measures, proposed changes to the tax system buried in the small print have family firms sounding the alarm.
Healey is considering plans to charge parents income tax when they hand their company down to their children rather than the lower-rate capital gains tax they currently enjoy, potentially almost doubling their HMRC bills.
Industry insiders are warning the reforms could have a major impact on succession plans at a time when Labour has already made it more expensive to hand down family businesses after death by cutting the inheritance tax relief available.
A consultation on the proposals closed in mid-September, providing officials with a perfect 10-week window to analyse responses before the Oct 28 Budget.
Some business figures hope that the Treasury will postpone or drop the plans given the strength of the pushback, but faced with a £35bn shortfall, will the Chancellor be able to resist?
This report is available only to subscribers.
Continue reading ➤ |
Fires continued to burn in Paris yesterday |
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Iona Cleave |
Emmanual Macron’s emergency address last night was a plea for the “criminals” who have co-opted the anti-government protests to stop violence and looting in French cities.
It also contained a threat: a potential suspension of civil liberties.
The embattled French president announced that regional governments had been given the power to ban public gatherings and protests “when necessary” to defend order.
Speaking at the Élysée Palace, Macron condemned the “unprecedented violence” that erupted on Saturday during initially peaceful protests against the cost of living and school conditions. “Tonight, we all feel anger and shame,” he said.
The country is reeling from the worst day of urban unrest in recent years. It laid bare the anger at Macron’s administration. After nearly a decade in power, France is being pushed towards the fiscal brink: ballooning debt, high inflation and a sluggish economy.
Nearly 2,400 people were arrested on Saturday, with close to 1,000 police and gendarmes injured, seven seriously.
Masked groups set fires, attacked public buildings and looted stores across France. One protester died after suffering a cardiac arrest in Paris. In the town of Limoges, the 19th-century city hall was largely destroyed by a blaze.
The city hall in Limoges was destroyed by fire during protests |
As political leaders looked to next spring’s presidential election, all sides sought to trade blame.
Before Macron’s address, Marine Le Pen, leader of the hard-Right National Rally party, declared that France had been taken hostage by “violence and powerlessness.”
She said the unrest showed Macron’s administration was “running on fumes, exhausted and disoriented”. Jordan Bardella, her running mate, described Macron’s speech as a “lamentable” address that showed the authorities had “nothing more to say”.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the hard-Left presidential hopeful, urged Macron to respond to the protesters’ demands, saying young people “need this episode to reach a positive conclusion”.
By yesterday, the worst of the violence had been quelled, but police continued to battle protesters in new clashes in Paris.
“Those who have destroyed must pay,” Macron said, vowing the government would be “uncompromising” towards the “agitators from ultra-Left fringe groups, joined by numerous delinquents” who “unleashed unbridled violence in our cities”.
For subscribers only ➤
France’s riots are the death throes of Macronism ➤
Andrew Hussey: If this isn’t a civil war, it certainly looks like one ➤ |
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Dominic Lawson Burnham would be rash to think there would be anything other than outrage from British consumers Continue reading ➤
Lionel Shriver Sally Rooney is a posturing ingrate Continue reading ➤
Zoe Strimpel Young women hate young men. No dating app can fix that Continue reading ➤ |
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• The BBC has paused placements for civil servants following a Telegraph investigation. Articles and blog posts showed that they had been bylined as members of BBC News and BBC Verify.
• Andy Burnham is to put AI at the centre of his plans to re-embrace the EU. Officials are working on the proposals despite criticism of the bloc’s emphasis on regulation rather than the technological race dominated by the US and China.
• Passengers who play loud music on trains will be threatened with fines of up to £1,000. Rail companies will target noisy commuters with announcements reminding them to put on headphones.
• Zack Polanski has suggested Israel has no right to exist under international law. The Green Party leader said that there was “so much misinformation” about the creation of the country during an interview yesterday.
• A flight from Tel Aviv to Vienna made an emergency landing in Bulgaria yesterday night after a bomb threat. A crew member reported receiving the threat and an air force fighter jet escorted the plane until it landed in the capital city of Sofia. |
Marine Le Pen is closer than ever to the French presidency, but her past admiration for Vladimir Putin could yet prove her undoing. As Europe’s hard-Right parties gain popularity, their competing loyalties to Moscow are exposing a fault line in the movement, with Ukraine’s future hanging in the balance.
Continue reading ➤
Trump: Zelensky never wanted to end Ukraine war ➤ |
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Christian Horner was, in his own words, the villain of F1’s smash-hit Drive to Survive series. With his Spice Girl wife and cushy life in the Cotswolds, he was accused of being too pleased with himself. He insists he is “very different in real life”. Fifteen months after his Red Bull reign ended, Tom Cary catches up with one of F1’s biggest – and most missed – personalities. Continue reading ➤ |
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After the chaos of Saturday night (surely the producers will be having stern words about all the “noises off”), came the inevitability of yesterday. Dame Sarah Storey is a woman used to winning, but the Paralympian didn’t stand a chance in the dance-off. It was anyone’s guess who her opponent would be, with no one else really deserving to leave the show at this stage. That it was actress Bethany Antonia and her partner Nancy Xu is down to the fact that she has been strong without ever being spectacular. Shaun Wright-Phillips, however, will need to pull out something spectacular to survive next week. Continue reading ➤ |
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Statins are the country’s most commonly prescribed medication, but how does the cholesterol-lowering pill actually work, and should we be worried about any potential side effects?
After being swallowed, statins are absorbed from the gut and pass through the lining of the small intestine. They are then transported to the liver – the body’s cholesterol factory – through the bloodstream.
Once the statin reaches the liver, it blocks HMG-CoA reductase, an enzyme. As a result, the liver produces less cholesterol and removes more LDL cholesterol from the bloodstream, helping to lower overall LDL levels in the body, and reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.
If you are in the minority of people who experience side effects while taking statins, you do not necessarily need to stop taking them altogether, says Prof Kausik Ray, an internationally renowned preventative cardiologist.
It is worth noting, however, that they are most effective when combined with lifestyle changes. Prof Ray says: “Regular exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, eating a balanced diet, and reducing smoking and alcohol can all help to lower cholesterol levels.”
Click here to find out more ➤ |
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Every Monday between now and the Budget, this newsletter will bring you useful guides to ensure you are financially fit for the announcement.
Mark Pierson, a 65-year-old semi-retired consultant, has been topping up his Isa |
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Charlotte Gifford Senior Money Reporter |
The Budget has not even been delivered, yet Britain’s savers are already changing their financial plans in anticipation of what could be a painful tax raid. Mark Pierson, a semi-retired consultant, has shelved plans to buy property until he knows whether stamp duty will survive, while freelance consultant James Harrison has taken his pension’s tax-free lump sum early, fearing the Government could target it next.
Their concerns reflect growing anxiety among investors, homeowners and business owners that John Healey, the Chancellor, will need to raise taxes to plug a £35bn hole in the public finances. Although he has ruled out some of the more radical proposals floated in recent weeks, uncertainty remains and is already influencing behaviour.
Are these pre-emptive moves sensible financial planning or an expensive response to speculation? With billions of pounds already being withdrawn from pensions and investment decisions put on hold, the stakes extend well beyond the Treasury’s tax calculations. We speak to the people preparing for the worst, and examine the measures that could still be on the table and what investors should consider before making a move of their own.
Continue reading ➤ |
CAPTION COMPETITION WITH... |
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Matt Pritchett Cartoonist |
Hello! For this week’s cartoon, we have a couple looking out of their living room window. What do you think they are saying? May the best man or woman win. Congratulations to Steph McClure for the caption below. Very topical!
Submit your caption here ➤
P.S. For an inside look at what inspires my weekly cartoons, you can sign up for my personal newsletter here. Catch up on the latest edition here. |
Sing a Song of SixpenceWhile Orlando Bird, our loyal Reader Correspondent, is away, Joe Burgis is on hand to share an off-piste topic that has brought out the best of your opinions and stories. Joe writes...
I remember vividly hearing beautiful birdsong and being surprised to learn that the singer was a blackbird. Ever since, I’ve been very fond of them. So I was concerned to read Margaret Grace’s letter: “In the course of the past few weeks, the blackbirds have all but disappeared from my back garden, as well as the verges of local roads, where they were plentiful. This includes one ‘regular’ male, which I can identify by a slightly displaced left wing. Can anyone think of a reason for this? Their song is sorely missed.”
John Frew replied: “Sadly, I have witnessed magpies raiding the nests of blackbirds. While I recognise the efforts of the RSPB, I think that more must be done if our ‘old friends’ are to continue heralding the breaking of day with their wonderful chorus.”
I was sad to hear this, too, as I am a fan of the magpie! Still, another explanation was offered by Wendy Tanqueray: “It is most probably due to the concrete-like soil. My friendly blackbird has completely given up, having hopped and listened for emerging worms with no success. Maybe the promised autumn rains will bring him back.”
Anthony Clay added: “Blackbirds undergo their annual moult at this time of year, during which they become unusually quiet and secretive. They can also leave gardens to exploit the abundance of berries and other natural food elsewhere.”
I was moved by Richard Statham’s message: “When my wife and I moved into our new house in Somerset in 1984, we were awoken in the morning by the dawn chorus. Later, the chorus had become not much more than a few cheeps. At my new house, there were pigeons aplenty, plus other small birds, but after three years I am now down to three magpies and occasional sightings of blackbirds. I miss these birds so much.”
That’s all from me, folks. I’ll be back tomorrow to bring you the best Telegraph talking points. In the meantime, you can contact me here. Please confirm in your reply that you are happy to be featured and that we have your permission to use your name. |
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1987 | Black Monday global stock market crash as the Dow Jones Industrial Average falls by 22.6 per cent in a single trading session, marking the largest one-day percentage drop in history (see our front page from the following day)
1989 | The Court of Appeal overturns the convictions of the Guildford Four
2005 | Saddam Hussein goes on trial in Baghdad for crimes against humanity
2019 | Parliament votes for the Letwin amendment in a special Saturday sitting, forcing Boris Johnson to ask the EU for an extension and delaying the vote on his Brexit deal
Birthdays: Rebecca Ferguson (43), Jon Favreau (60), John Lithgow (81)
Plus, in the news this week, newly released satellite pictures show Kim Jong-un’s luxury yacht. Most of its upper deck is occupied by an Olympic-size swimming pool, with several water slides. How many slides?
1. Two
2. Three
2. Four
3. Five
Click one of the options to reveal the answer... |
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Find as many words as you can in today’s Panagram, including the nine-letter solution. Visit Telegraph Puzzles to play a range of head-scratching games, including The 1% Club, Cogs, and Quick, Mini or Cryptic Crosswords.
Yesterday’s Panagram was TREATABLE. Come back tomorrow for the solution to today’s puzzle. |
Thank you for reading. Have a fulfilling day and I hope to see you tomorrow. Chris Evans, Editor
I’d love to hear what you think of this newsletter. You can email me your feedback at fromtheeditor@telegraph.co.uk. |
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