Excessive furlough extension could ‘choke off’ growth, IFS says

Tax rises look ‘more likely than ever’ in future years as the Government’s spending splurge amid the pandemic rolls on, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned. The IFS said Chancellor Rishi Sunak is likely to need to raise an additional £60billion via taxes over the coming years.  But, with Britain’s economy facing an ‘extraordinarily’ … Read more

IFS: Over 1m self-employed missing out on government’s Covid support

More than a million self-employed workers are missing out on financial support from the Government because they have another source of income leaving many facing ‘serious hardship’, warns the IFS Government set up Self-Employment Income Support Scheme during pandemic It provides payments once a quarter worth 80 per cent of pre-pandemic profits But Institute for … Read more

Exempting foreign NHS workers would only cost £90m says IFS

Boris Johnson’s reasoning for refusing to exempt foreign NHS workers from the healthcare surcharge began unravelling tonight when a top economist slapped down his suggestion it would cost hundreds of millions.  The Prime Minister today hailed the £400 annual fee for migrants as a £900million revenue raiser, as he swatted away calls for the government … Read more