Business
Rachel Reeves says she is looking at tax rises ahead of Budget
Paul SeddonPolitical reporter ,
Joshua NevettPolitical reporter and
Henry ZeffmanChief political correspondent
BBCRachel Reeves has said she is looking at “further measures on tax” ahead of next month’s Budget, in the clearest sign yet that tax hikes are on the way.
The chancellor also said she was considering further measures on public spending, in a bid to put the UK’s finances on a firmer footing.
Speaking to broadcasters ahead of an international finance summit in the US, she added that she would “continue to prioritise economic and fiscal stability”.
The chancellor is widely expected to raise taxes at the Budget on 26 November, after gloomy economic forecasts and a series of U-turns on welfare cuts made it harder for her to meet her own tax and spending rules.
Reeves announced tax rises worth £40bn a year at her first Budget last November, including hikes to payroll taxes paid by employers, and insisted she would not have to repeat the move in subsequent years.
But the chancellor is now facing the prospect of another repair job to the public finances, after rises to borrowing costs since then and expected downgrades to the productivity of the UK economy.
Some analysts have estimated Reeves will have to raise taxes or cut spending by around £20bn to meet her “non negotiable” financial rules.
These rules mean her plans must be projected to get government debt falling as a share of national income by 2029-30, and day-to-day government costs must be paid for by tax income rather than borrowing.
Speaking to broadcasters in Washington DC ahead of the the International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meeting, the chancellor said: “I’ve always been very clear that we will continue to prioritise economic and fiscal stability in the UK.”
Asked whether she would have to raise taxes, she replied: “As we get the forecast, and as we develop our plans, of course we are looking at further measures on tax and spending, to make sure that the public finances always add up.”
‘Severe’ Brexit impact
In an earlier interview with Sky News, Reeves said austerity policies and former Prime Minister Liz Truss’s mini-budget had damaged the UK economy.
She also sought to blame Brexit, adding that the economic effects of the UK’s exit from the EU had been “severe and long-lasting”.
She cited the government’s attempts to strike food regulation and youth visa deals with the EU as moves that were “undoing some of that damage”.
Reeves and her Treasury ministers have so far been tight-lipped on which taxes could potentially go up.
The chancellor has not ruled out continuing to freeze income tax thresholds beyond the 2028 date fixed by the last government, allowing more people to be dragged into higher bands as their wages rise over time.
Reports have also suggested she is looking at property taxes, including making more landlords pay National Insurance on rental income.
There has also been speculation that betting companies could face higher taxes, with the chancellor recently saying she thought “there is a case for gambling firms paying more”.
In her speech to Labour conference last month, Reeves pledged to keep “taxes, inflation and interest rates as low as possible” – but has reduced her options by promising at the last election not to hike the biggest revenue-raising taxes.
Labour promised in its 2024 manifesto not to raise income tax rates, VAT, a sales tax, and corporation tax, which is paid by companies on their profits.
The party also promised not to raise National Insurance – prompting a row last autumn when it announced the rise in the contributions paid by employers.
‘Tax doom loop’
Reeves had been widely expected to hike taxes at the Budget, but her comments in Washington were also notable for explicitly raising the prospect that tax rises could be accompanied by cuts to public spending.
However, many Labour MPs believe that spending cuts in most areas would be politically unviable after the failed attempts at welfare cuts earlier this year, with a welfare overhaul put on ice pending a ministerial review.
The day-to-day budgets of government departments were only recently set for the next three years at June’s spending review, although the government could promise to cut spending in four or five years.
The Conservatives opened up a clear dividing line on the issue at their conference last week, pledging to slash public spending by £47bn a year if they win the next election through cuts to welfare, the civil service and foreign aid.
On Monday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the UK was set to be the second-fastest-growing of the world’s most advanced economies this year.
But the IMF also predicted the UK will face the highest rate of inflation among G7 nations both this year and next, driven by rising energy and utility bills.
Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said the government needed to get a grip on public spending, rather than raise taxes again.
He said: “Be in no doubt, this tax doom loop is down to the Chancellor’s economic mismanagement.
“Under Rachel Reeves we have seen inflation double, debt balloon, borrowing costs at a 27-year high, and taxes up – with more pain on the way in the autumn.”
New Delhi: Several crucial deadlines have been extended in December 2025, including ITR for tax audit cases, ITR filing and PAN and Aadhaar linking. These deadlines will be crucial in ensuring that your financial affairs operate smoothly in the months ahead.
Here is a quick rundown of the important deadlines for December to help you stay compliant and avoid last-minute hassles.
ITR deadline for tax audit cases
The Central Board of Direct Taxes has extended the due date of furnishing of return of income under sub-Section (1) of Section 139 of the Act for the Assessment Year 2025-26 which is October 31, 2025 in the case of assessees referred in clause (a) of Explanation 2 to sub-Section (1) of Section 139 of the Act, to December 10, 2025.
Belated ITR filing deadline
A belated ITR filing happens when an ITR is submitted after the original due date which is permitted by Section 139(4) of the Income Tax Act. Filing a belated return helps you meet your tax obligations, but it involves penalties. You can only file a belated return for FY 2024–25 until December 31, 2025. However, there will be a late fee and interest charged.
PAN and Aadhaar linking deadline
The Income Tax Department has extended the deadline to link their PAN with Aadhaar card to December 31, 2025 for anyone who acquired their PAN using an Aadhaar enrolment ID before October 1, 2024. If you miss this deadline your PAN will become inoperative which will have an impact on your banking transactions, income tax return filing and other financial investments.
Business
Stock Market Live Updates: Sensex, Nifty Hit Record Highs; Bank Nifty Climbs 60,000 For The First Time
Stock Market News Live Updates: Indian equity benchmarks opened with a strong gap-up on Monday, December 1, touching fresh record highs, buoyed by a sharp acceleration in Q2FY26 GDP growth to a six-quarter peak of 8.2%. Positive cues from Asian markets further lifted investor sentiment.
The BSE Sensex was trading at 85,994, up 288 points or 0.34%, after touching an all-time high of 86,159 in early deals. The Nifty 50 stood at 26,290, higher by 87 points or 0.33%, after scaling a record intraday high of 26,325.8.
Broader markets also saw gains, with the Midcap index rising 0.27% and the Smallcap index advancing 0.52%.
On the sectoral front, the Nifty Bank hit a historic milestone by crossing the 60,000 mark for the first time, gaining 0.4% to touch a fresh peak of 60,114.05.
Meanwhile, the Metal and PSU Bank indices climbed 0.8% each in early trade.
Global cues
Asia-Pacific markets were mostly lower on Monday as traders assessed fresh Chinese manufacturing data and increasingly priced in the likelihood of a US Federal Reserve rate cut later this month.
According to the CME FedWatch Tool, markets are now assigning an 87.4 per cent probability to a rate cut at the Fed’s December 10 meeting.
China’s factory activity unexpectedly slipped back into contraction in November, with the RatingDog China General Manufacturing PMI by S&P Global easing to 49.9, below expectations of 50.5, as weak domestic demand persisted.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 1.6 per cent, while the broader Topix declined 0.86 per cent. In South Korea, the Kospi dropped 0.30 per cent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.31 per cent.
US stock futures were steady in early Asian trade after a positive week on Wall Street. On Friday, in a shortened post-Thanksgiving session, the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.65 per cent to 23,365.69, its fifth consecutive day of gains.
The S&P 500 rose 0.54 per cent to 6,849.09, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 289.30 points, or 0.61 per cent, to close at 47,716.42.
Sales by the world’s top 100 arms makers reached a record $679 billion last year, as conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza fueled demand, according to researchers. Production challenges, however, continued to hamper timely deliveries.
The figure represents a 5.9 percent increase from the previous year, and over the 2015–2024 period, revenues for the top 100 arms makers have grown by 26 percent, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
“Last year, global arms revenues reached the highest level ever recorded by SIPRI, as producers capitalized on strong demand,” said Lorenzo Scarazzato, a researcher with the SIPRI Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme.
Regional Trends
According to SIPRI researcher Jade Guiberteau Ricard, the growth is mostly driven by Europe, though all regions saw increases except Asia and Oceania.
The surge in Europe is linked to the war in Ukraine and heightened security concerns regarding Russia.
Countries supporting Ukraine and replenishing their stockpiles have also contributed to rising demand.
Ricard added that many European nations are now seeking to modernize and expand their militaries, creating a new source of demand.
US and European Arms Makers
The United States hosts 39 of the world’s top 100 arms makers, including the top three: Lockheed Martin, RTX (formerly Raytheon Technologies), and Northrop Grumman. US companies saw combined revenues rise 3.8 percent to $334 billion, nearly half of the global total.
European arms makers (26 companies in the top 100) recorded aggregate revenues of $151 billion, a 13 percent increase.
The Czech company Czechoslovak Group recorded the sharpest rise, with revenues jumping 193 percent to $3.6 billion, benefiting from the Czech Ammunition Initiative, which supplies artillery shells to Ukraine.
However, European producers face challenges in meeting increased demand, as sourcing raw materials has become more difficult.
Companies like Airbus and France’s Safran previously sourced half of their titanium from Russia before 2022 and have had to identify new suppliers.
Additionally, Chinese export restrictions on critical minerals have forced firms such as France’s Thales and Germany’s Rheinmetall to restructure supply chains, raising costs.
Russian Arms Industry
Two Russian arms makers, Rostec and United Shipbuilding Corporation, are among the top 100, with combined revenues rising 23 percent to $31.2 billion, despite component shortages caused by international sanctions.
Domestic demand largely offset the decline in exports. However, Russia’s arms industry faces a shortage of skilled labor, limiting its ability to sustain production rates necessary for ongoing military operations.
Israeli weapons still popular
The Asia and Oceania region was the only region to see the overall revenues of the 23 companies based there go down — their combined revenues dropped 1.2 percent to $130 billion.
But the authors stressed that the picture across Asia was varied and the overall drop was the result of by a larger drop among Chinese arms makers.
“A host of corruption allegations in Chinese arms procurement led to major arms contracts being postponed or cancelled in 2024,” Nan Tian, Director of SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme, said in a statement.
Tian added that the drop deepened “uncertainty” around China’s efforts to modernise its military.
In contrast, Japanese and South Korean weapons makers saw their revenues increase, also driven by European demand.
Meanwhile, nine of the top 100 arms companies were based in the Middle East, with combined revenues of $31 billion.
The three Israeli arms companies in the ranking accounted for more than half of that, as their combined revenues grew by 16 percent to $16.2 billion.
SIPRI researcher Zubaida Karim noted in a statement that “the growing backlash over Israel’s actions in Gaza seems to have had little impact on interest in Israeli weapons”.
Modella eyeing another acquisition, this time it’s the Wynsors footwear chain
Duchess Sophie risks security as she breaks protocol for tragic accident
British MP Tulip Siddiq handed two-year prison sentence in Bangladesh graft case
-
Sports1 week agoWATCH: Ronaldo scores spectacular bicycle kick
-
Entertainment1 week agoWelcome to Derry’ episode 5 delivers shocking twist
-
Politics1 week agoWashington and Kyiv Stress Any Peace Deal Must Fully Respect Ukraine’s Sovereignty
-
Business1 week agoKey economic data and trends that will shape Rachel Reeves’ Budget
-
Tech6 days agoWake Up—the Best Black Friday Mattress Sales Are Here
-
Politics1 week ago53,000 Sikhs vote in Ottawa Khalistan Referendum amid Carney-Modi trade talks scrutiny
-
Fashion1 week agoCanada’s Lululemon unveils team Canada kit for Milano Cortina 2026
-
Tech6 days agoThe Alienware Aurora Gaming Desktop Punches Above Its Weight