Making the jump to self-employment could damage your pension savings Personal Finance Employees making the leap into self-employment could put their retirement at risk, with many unlikely to continue saving into a pension upon leaving auto-enrolment. Roughly one in five self-employed workers save into a private pension, compared with around four in five employees, leaving those working for themselves at greater risk of having insufficient savings upon [...]
Wealth tax would ‘create unfairness’, IFS says Economics Annual wealth taxes would create “complexity, distortions and unfairness”, a new Institute for Fiscal Studies report has said, as policymakers have been advised to consider the trade-offs involved in addressing forms of inequality. The IFS’ Deaton Review, which involved research conducted over six years, found that an annual levy on wealth would have “serious drawbacks” [...]
14 charts reveal the massive challenges facing UK and NATO defence spending Politics Defence spending is casting a shadow over Downing Street. Military officers are in a state of despair. The choices facing Sir Keir Starmer are stark. The political calculus for the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has become more complicated than ever as the Iran war puts public finances in danger. Their difficulties go back to February 2025 [...]
Will AI replace gambling as Premier League front-of-shirt preference? March 29, 2026 AI companies have set their sights on sports. The Premier League already has competition-wide AI deals with Microsoft and Adobe, and recently Chelsea FC cut a front of shirt deal with industrial AI company IFS. These firms are in an extraordinary period of growth, and they have deep pockets to elevate their brands. They know [...]
Living standards to be ‘far bleaker’ after 2026 despite Reeves’ claims March 4, 2026 UK living standards are projected to drop in the two years before the next General Election as economists warned people were heading for “far bleaker” times ahead, turning up the heat on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to deliver on a commitment to ease the cost of living. Economists at the Resolution Foundation, the left-leaning Westminster think [...]
Rachel Reeves warned ‘dysfunctional’ fiscal rules are hammering economy February 19, 2026 Rachel Reeves has been dealt a scathing assessment of her economic policy by a top think tank, which likened her approach to a driver who was “watching the speedometer” while ignoring other conditions. The Chancellor is facing calls to scrap the self-imposed fiscal rules that prevent her from borrowing to pay for day-to-day spending and [...]
Cadillac add tech sponsor as Formula 1 newcomers gear up for debut January 7, 2026 Cadillac Formula 1 Team have added software provider IFS to their portfolio of commercial partners as they continue preparations for joining the grid this year. Sweden-based IFS is the team’s first non-US partner and joins Tommy Hilfiger and Jim Beam in backing Cadillac ahead of their eagerly anticipated F1 debut. “IFS has been instrumental in [...]
‘Fiscal fiction’: IFS challenges Reeves’ tax measures November 27, 2025 The Chancellor may need to come back for more tax rises at a future Budget, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) which warned much of the headroom Rachel Reeves carved out for herself relied on “near heroic restraint” on departmental spending in an election year. Helen Miller, the think tank’s director, said that [...]
Brits on state pension to be caught by income tax for first time November 14, 2025 All Brits on the full state pension will be dragged into paying income tax in 2027 for the first time, researchers have warned, amid growing speculation that thresholds will be frozen for an extended period. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think tank has warned that 100 per cent of those on the full state [...]
Costly departures: Why an exit tax looks more likely than a wealth tax July 22, 2025 Tax experts have been queuing up to warn that a blanket tax on wealth is both unlikely and unfeasible. But as ministers insist the government will avoid tax hikes targeting average earners, could it turn to an exit tax to plug the gap? As reams of impressed tourists shuffled their way through the opulent surroundings [...]