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A major VAT reform unveiled in the Budget is expected to unlock millions of pounds’ worth of surplus goods for charity and significantly reduce the volume of usable products sent to landfill. From 1 April 2026, businesses will be able to donate goods to registered charities without incurring a VAT charge, removing a long-criticised tax barrier that has deterred companies from giving away unsold, returned or surplus items. Under current rules, gifting goods — even...

Experts are warning that Rachel Reeves’ decision to cap the National Insurance advantages of pension salary sacrifice at £2,000 a year risks dismantling one of the UK’s most widely used workplace savings tools, and may force smaller employers to freeze hiring or scale back staff benefits. The Treasury expects the change to raise £4.7 billion in 2029/30, rising from workers and employers who currently benefit from unlimited NI relief when pension contributions are made via...

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has delivered her second Budget, unveiling a wide-ranging package of tax, spending and regulatory measures shaped by weeks of leaks — and an accidental early publication of the OBR’s official forecasts. Here is a comprehensive overview of the main changes affecting households, businesses and the wider economy. Personal taxation Reeves confirmed that income tax and National Insurance thresholds will be frozen until 2031, extending the existing freeze by an additional three years....

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has delivered a bruising second Budget, confirming more than £30 billion in tax rises and abandoning earlier assurances that “working people” would be shielded from higher taxes. Instead, she told MPs she was asking “everyone to contribute”, with most households now set to be worse off and middle-income families bearing the brunt. While welfare payments, pensions and minimum wages will rise, a broad package of tax increases — combined with frozen thresholds...

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has described the accidental early publication of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s report as “deeply disappointing”, after the market-sensitive document appeared online ahead of her Budget statement. Opening her remarks in the Commons, Reeves said the OBR had already taken “full responsibility” for the error. She stressed the government’s progress over the past 16 months in “rebuilding the economy”, citing new trade agreements and reforms to fiscal rules. The OBR, while independent,...

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is facing mounting calls to resign from frustrated business owners after a series of leaks ahead of this week’s Budget – drawing comparisons with Labour Chancellor Hugh Dalton, who quit in 1947 after briefing a journalist moments before delivering his statement. The criticism intensified after the Office for Budget Responsibility accidentally published its full economic forecast online hours before Reeves’ speech. The OBR has apologised, but the premature release revealed that GDP...

Electric vehicle owners will be required to pay a new 3p-per-mile tax from 2028, Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed today in the Autumn Budget — marking the UK’s first dedicated mileage charge for zero-emission cars. The measure is designed to offset the sharp decline in fuel duty revenue, which has fallen year-on-year as more motorists switch from petrol and diesel to electric alternatives. The Treasury argues that long-term changes are needed to protect public finances as...