Business
Scottish Finance Secretary requests urgent meeting with Chancellor before Budget
Scotland’s Finance Secretary has requested an urgent meeting with the Chancellor amid reports she will raise taxes in her Budget this month.
Shona Robison set out what she said were three tests Rachel Reeves must meet when she delivers her tax and spending plans on November 26.
They include ditching her fiscal rules and delivering investment “to grow the economy and support people with the cost of living”, ensuring “every penny” raised from any tax rises is reinvested in public services with consequential funding to Scotland and a promise the Budget will not amount to austerity and cuts for Holyrood.
It comes after a pre-Budget speech from the Chancellor in which she failed to rule out tax rises, warning she will have to make “necessary choices” after the “world has thrown more challenges our way”.
Reports later suggested the Chancellor could raise income tax. The Fraser of Allander Institute has estimated a 2p hike could cut Scotland’s budget by £1 billion.
The Finance Secretary said: “The Chancellor’s unexpected Downing Street speech has fuelled speculation and piled uncertainty on uncertainty about Labour tax hikes in the upcoming UK Budget, with a potential price tag of £1 billion for Scotland.
“Let me be clear: Scotland should not be left paying the price for Labour’s broken promises.”
Ms Robison said last year’s Budget was a “disaster” for the Chancellor, “taxing jobs, (the) vulnerable and doing nothing on child poverty”.
She said she had requested an urgent meeting with her, where she would set out her three tests.
She said: “This year, I am setting three tests the UK Budget must meet – and the first is that the Chancellor must ditch her outdated, restrictive fiscal rules. The era in which these rules were set is over and Rachel Reeves must face up to the new reality.
“And crucially, every single penny raised from any Labour tax rises must be invested into public services with consequential funding for Scotland.
“Rachel Reeves must also confirm that Scotland will not see our funding cut as a result of Labour decisions.
“They came to office promising an end to austerity, so to impose it on Scotland would be a political betrayal from which Labour would never recover.
“I have requested an urgent meeting with the Chancellor and will be clear to her that her Budget must meet these three key tests.
“But the chaos and confusion coming out of the UK Government this week is just confirmation that Scotland shouldn’t be leaving crucial decisions about our finances in the hands of incompetent Westminster governments – these decisions should be in Scotland’s hands, with the fresh start of independence.”
An HM Treasury spokesperson said: “Our record funding settlement for Scotland will mean over 20% more funding per head than the rest of the UK.
“We have also confirmed £8.3 billion in funding for GB Energy-Nuclear and GB Energy in Aberdeen, up to £750 million for a new supercomputer at Edinburgh University, and are investing £452 million over four years for City and Growth Deals across Scotland.
“This investment is all possible because our fiscal rules are non-negotiable, they are the basis of the stability which underpins growth.”
Business
Without Rera data, real estate reform risks losing credibility: Homebuyers’ body – The Times of India
New Delhi: More than 75% of state real estate regulators, Reras, have either never published annual reports, discontinued their publication or not updated them despite statutory obligation and directions from the housing and urban affairs ministry, claimed homebuyers’ body FPCE on Friday. It released status report of 21 Reras as of Feb 13.The availability of updated annual reports is crucial as these contain details of data on performance of Reras, including project completion status categorised by timely completion, completion with extensions, and incomplete projects. The ministry’s format for publishing these reports also specifies providing details such as actual execution status of refund, possession and compensation orders as well as recovery warrant execution details with values and list of defaulting builders.FPCE said annual report data is not only vital for homebuyers to assess system credibility, but is equally necessary for both state and central govts to frame effective policies, design incentivisation schemes, and develop tax policy frameworks.“Unless we have credible data proving that after Rera the real estate sector has improved in terms of delivery, fairness, and keeping its promises, we are merely firing in the air,” said FPCE president Abhay Upadhyay, who is also a member of the govt’s Central Advisory Council on Rera.As per details shared by the entity, seven states — Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Goa — have never published a single annual report since Rera’s implementation, and nine states, including Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana, which initially published reports, have discontinued the practice.Upadhyay said when regulators themselves don’t follow the law, they lose the legal right to demand compliance from other stakeholders. “Their failure emboldens builders and weakens the very system they are meant to safeguard,” he said.
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Over recent quarters, payouts had gradually improved from roughly 65 percent to 80 percent and now to an average of about 85 percent in Q3FY26.
Infosys logo is seen.
IT major Infosys rolled out performance bonus payouts averaging around 85 percent for the quarter ended December 31, 2025 (Q3FY26), marking the strongest variable pay outcome for eligible employees in at least the past three-and-a-half years, Moneycontrol reported citing people in the know.
The bonus payout for mid- to junior-level employees ranges between 75 percent and 100 percent, with most employees clustering around the organisation-wide average of 85 percent, the report said. The development signals a steady recovery in variable compensation at the Bengaluru-headquartered IT services firm. Over recent quarters, payouts had gradually improved from roughly 65 percent to 80 percent and now to an average of about 85 percent in Q3FY26.
Employees are expected to receive their bonus letters over the next few days, with the payout scheduled to be credited along with their February salary.
One employee told the outlet that it is the strongest bonus outcome seen in recent years. The payout is also among the rare instances since the Covid-19 period when variable pay has approached the upper end of the eligible range.
Infosys last paid out 100 percent variable compensation during the pandemic. In the quarters that followed, payouts were lower amid macroeconomic uncertainty and a broader slowdown in client spending across global markets.
The higher payout comes at a time when global IT stocks have faced renewed pressure, driven by concerns over rapid advances in artificial intelligence and their potential impact on traditional IT services models.
Shares of global IT firms have seen sharp sell-offs in recent weeks amid heightened investor focus on AI leaders such as Anthropic. Investors fear that generative AI tools could compress pricing, automate routine services work and reduce demand for legacy outsourcing models.
Against that backdrop, the improved bonus payout at Infosys is being viewed as a signal of operational resilience and near-term performance strength, even as sentiment around the broader IT sector remains cautious.
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February 13, 2026, 21:44 IST
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