Around the world, the rich are getting richer, with soaring stock markets and other asset values lining their pockets. So why – in most countries – is there no wealth tax? True, most tax systems do tax wealth in specific ways, such as charges on property or capital gains. But straight-up wealth taxes – an
As a result, some savers have been giving money to their families during their lifetime to reduce the value of their estate. But this needs to be done carefully if you want to lower your inheritance tax bill. Experts usually advise against giving money away at the last minute, as gifts made in a person’s
Launch an inheritance tax raid, tinker with capital gains tax (CGT) and introduce an annual property levy. These are the reforms John Healey will announce at his inaugural Budget this month – if he were to listen to AI chatbots. Posing as the Chancellor, The Telegraph asked large language models (LLMs) which taxes should be
In 2025-26, the Department for Business and Trade paid £99m to settle the Post Office’s IR35 tax liability. Meanwhile, the Foreign Office faced a £15m tax bill after wrongly classifying workers as contractors when they should have been treated as employees. Seb Maley, of contractor insurance firm Qdos, said: “Nearly a decade on, government still
Have you turned down work to avoid the £100k tax trap? Share your story by emailing money@telegraph.co.uk*. The number of workers paying 60pc tax on their income has doubled in five years to 763,000, according to official figures. Between 2020-21 and 2025-26, the number of taxpayers caught in the £100k-£125k salary tax trap has soared
Maintaining public services and funding higher defence spending could lead to £35billion worth of tax hikes or benefit cuts, IFS warns IFS says Chancellor John Healey faces a ‘tight picture’ going into the Budget (Image: Betty Laura Zapata/PA Wire) Chancellor John Healey faces having to hike taxes in this month’s Budget to protect front-line public
John Healey may have to hike taxes by up to £35bn to cover spending pressures related to rearmament plans and higher inflation unleashed by the Iran war, one of the country’s most respected economic think-tanks has warned. The Institute for Fiscal Studies said that the Chancellor is facing a choice about whether to “tolerate” large,
Most people aged over 18 have to pay Council Tax but the government has issued an alert to some who get it free of charge 14:53, 11 Oct 2026Updated 14:54, 11 Oct 2026 Most people will have to pay Council Tax(Image: Getty) The government has issued an alert warning a key group of people that
What are tax havens? Tax havens are small, well-governed, offshore financial centres that offer low or zero taxes, combined with secrecy – or at least strict privacy – regarding client and ownership information. Many of them are islands connected in some way with Britain to exploit the country’s legal frameworks, stability and access to the
Tax cuts for big banks have deprived the UK government of £6bn in revenues, according to campaigners, who are calling on the chancellor, John Healey, to increase taxes and force lenders to pay their “fair share” in the budget. Calculations by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), which represents unions with more than 5.3 million members