Ukraine's New Cabinet to Boost Arms, Shore Up Funding
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's new cabinet, installed after the biggest government shake-up since Russia's full-scale invasion, will redouble efforts to seek fresh financial resources and produce weapons as the war drags on.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The £70bn pension tax raid Reeves may not be able to resist
Rachel Reeves is eyeing up your pension. The Chancellor is struggling to balance the books, so where better to look than Gordon Brown's favourite cash cow? It is becoming increasingly likely that she will have to follow in the footsteps of the chancellor whose framed photo she kept as a student, by launching a raid on retirement pots this autumn. As Torsten Bell, the pensions minister, highlighted conspicuously last week, the Government offers tax relief worth £70bn every year to encourage workers to save. While he insisted that incentives to save were 'a good thing', Bell refused to rule out a raid in the future. But while pensions might be a tempting target, the risk of unintended consequences is high. By taking a slice of pension savings, Reeves could inadvertently discourage people from stashing money away or lead to lower pay for the very people that Labour promises to protect. Roughly £12.8bn of individual contributions were made to personal pensions in 2022-23. Data published by the taxman show that in 2022–23, the Government gave up £46.8bn it would have collected if pension contributions had been subject to income tax. That is in addition to £24bn it would have raised if employer pension contributions had been subject to National Insurance (NI) contributions. Another telling statement by Bell this week was that the Government wanted to ensure that people are not 'taxed twice' on the money they save for retirement. He said: 'What does the pension tax system do? It makes it easy for people to smooth their incomes over their lifetime. We're not taxing you twice. That is an important feature of most tax systems, and it will remain an important feature.' But that statement still leaves some low-hanging fruit for the Chancellor to pluck. The first is salary sacrifice, where staff agree to forego a portion of their salary in return for the same amount being ploughed into a workplace pension. As a result, employees can reduce their NI contributions and benefit from tax relief on the money they add to their pension. Employers, who already don't pay NI on an employee's pension contributions, can also reduce their tax bill further because the sacrifice serves as a pay cut. Pensioners do not pay NI, leaving scope for the Government to start taxing one side of this equation and still abide by this principle. HMRC estimates that it lost out on £3.9bn in NI receipts because of salary sacrifice schemes, which would be a princely sum for a cash-strapped Chancellor. In addition, employees currently benefit from roughly £6bn a year in income tax relief through salary sacrifice. 'A generous and opaque subsidy' The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has urged the Government to go further by moving towards levying NI on employer pension contributions as a principle. Carl Emmerson, the deputy director of the IFS, describes the absence of NI on employer pension contributions as 'a very generous and very opaque subsidy' that if removed entirely, could boost the Treasury's coffers by more than £17bn a year. However, with businesses still reeling from a £25bn NI raid on employers, this would be a politically toxic move, and one that Emmerson says will have consequences for working people. 'It would almost certainly put downward pressure on pay, and would also make government spending less generous because lots of public sector workers get generous employer pension contributions, and those public sector employers would find their national insurance bills going up,' he says. To ease pressures, Reeves could choose to reimburse public sector employers as she did during last autumn's raid. The Resolution Foundation has estimated that doing so would cost £5bn – though the measure would still raise £12bn. A more radical option would be to restrict the income tax relief that applies when a worker makes pension contributions at a flat rate of 30pc. This would benefit those on modest income, but at the expense of higher earners. Economists estimate the measure would affect up to 6m higher and additional rate taxpayers, costing the wealthiest savers about £2,600. HMRC estimates show that 37pc of income tax relief on total contributions is provided at the basic rate, just over half at the higher rate and 7pc at the top 45p rate. However, Sir Steve Webb, a former pensions minister, says the Treasury has shied away from this reform because of its hideous complexity, as well as the significant impact it would have on public sector workers and the implications for their gold-plated, final-salary pensions. Sir Steve says: 'The challenge for the Government with potential cuts to pension tax relief is that a significant part of the existing tax break goes to long-serving and senior public servants, typically in defined-benefit pension arrangements.' Any cut to higher rate relief or tax-free lump sums would affect many such workers adversely at a time when the Government already has issues with the public sector workforce over pay. As this group is part of Labour's core voting base, it is likely to be wary of alienating them further. 'Constant meddling' Baroness Altmann, another former pensions minister, warns that changes to pensions, including Reeves's decision to bring pension pots into the scope of inheritance tax, could leave many people without the means to support themselves later in retirement. 'The constant tax meddling has been a disaster for pensions,' she says. Altmann warns that private sector employees are likely to be left footing the bill for any further changes. 'We're already subsidising hugely generous public sector pensions that the private sector can almost never dream of,' she says. There is also another element of the pensions system that is currently tax-free on the way in and out: the amount that can be taken from pension pots. Tax-free lump sum Currently, people can take up to 25pc of any pension as a tax-free lump sum when they reach 55, up to a maximum of £286,275. Reducing the amount to £100,000 would affect about one in five retirees, and raise £2bn in the long run, according to the IFS. A similar proposal is being pushed by the Labour-affiliated Fabian Society, and it is understood that Treasury officials have urged previous chancellors to look at the relief, which costs about £5.5bn a year. Emmerson says: 'If you've already got £900,000 in your pension pot, it's not obvious why the taxpayer should be subsidising you to put more in your pension. These people can't really claim that they're under-saving for retirement.' However, he makes a more obvious point that should make Reeves think twice if she wants to raid workplace pension savings. 'This would almost exclusively be paid by workers,' he says. A Treasury spokesman said they were 'committed to keeping taxes for working people as low as possible'. However, it's now clear that they're going to go up. The question is by how much. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
'Migrant hotel': Epping council unanimously urge Government to close hotel
IN a vote yesterday, Epping council has unanimously passed a motion to urge the Government 'to immediately and permanently close" a "migrant hotel" in the Essex town. The motion follows protests outside the Bell Hotel in Epping believed to house asylum seekers, which has become the centre of national attention after demonstrations which began peacefully last week escalated into violence; with police officers injured and a total of 18 people arrested. During the meeting Conservative councillor Shane Yerrell read a message from the father of a 14-year-old girl after an asylum seeker was charged with allegedly attempting to kiss her, which said: "I just want the hotel to be moved". Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, denied charges of sexual assault at Chelmsford Magistrates' court earlier this month. In the message read to the meeting by Councillor Shane Yerrell said: 'I do not want or condone any of the violence that has taken place at the protests – that's not what we're about, and that's not what we're trying to achieve – it's only going to make things go the other way. 'I just want the hotel to be moved, not only off our streets, but away from making any other family feel how we are feeling right now.' In a sometimes confrontational meeting, speakers criticised the disorder that has erupted at some of the gatherings, and the reported attendance of members of the far right. Read more Dad-of-two from Essex made a millionaire after winning huge EuroMillions prize Look inside historic Leigh venue fully re-opened and already booked out for Saturday Long-awaited plans to build 966 new homes at Fossetts Farm unveiled 'Inspiration': Southend school pride in former student who put England in final Seven people have now been charged in relation to protests outside the hotel, while another protest yesterday saw Essex Police thank those demonstrators for protesting peacefully. Jon Whitehouse, Epping Liberal Democrat leader said the people of Epping 'can fight their own battles and want their Thursdays and Sundays back'. He said: 'I'm appalled it's been necessary for the police to arrive in Epping in such volume and such force because of the violence and the intimidation that we've experienced here. 'Facilitating passionate, lawful protest is a difficult and an important task – it's made more difficult when those with no interest in the community of Epping choose to exploit those concerns, exploit the victims of crime and awful experiences for their own warped ends. 'If you're here to stir up violence and confrontation in the surge of warped ideology – or maybe for some social media clicks – we don't want you and we don't need you.'
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Starmer faces pressure to recognise Palestinian state immediately
Sir Keir Starmer is facing pressure to immediately recognise Palestine as a state amid growing calls from MPs and a commitment from France. The Prime Minister condemned the 'unspeakable and indefensible' humanitarian conditions in Gaza ahead of an emergency call with German and French leaders on Friday. He also said statehood was the 'inalienable right' of the Palestinian people but maintained that a ceasefire should come first. Sir Keir said: 'I will hold an emergency call with E3 partners tomorrow, where we will discuss what we can do urgently to stop the killing and get people the food they desperately need, while pulling together all the steps necessary to build a lasting peace.' He will speak to Emmanuel Macron, who has confirmed France will recognise Palestinian statehood, making his country the first G7 nation to do so in a move he said he would formalise at the UN General Assembly in September. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called for the UK to follow suit, saying the UK 'should be leading on this, not falling behind'. 'Recognise the independent state of Palestine now and take the lead on securing a two-state solution and a lasting peace,' he said. Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan has also called for immediate recognition, while the Trades Union Congress have pushed for formal recognition of Palestine 'not in a year's time or two years' time – but now'. Emily Thornberry, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said most of its members back recognition right away. 'It is the view of the majority of the committee that the UK Government should immediately recognise the state of Palestine, signalling the UK's desire to work urgently towards a two-state solution alongside our allies,' she said. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the Government wants to recognise a Palestinian state 'in contribution to a peace process'. She also told The Times: 'I think there could be multiple benefits. A lot of people would argue that recognition on its own has a symbolic value that could send a strong message to the Israeli government.' Health Secretary Wes Streeting on Tuesday called for recognition of Palestine 'while there's still a state of Palestine left to recognise'. Sir Keir said on Thursday: 'We are clear that statehood is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people. 'A ceasefire will put us on a path to the recognition of a Palestinian state and a two-state solution which guarantees peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis,' he said. Charities operating in Gaza have said that Israel's blockade and ongoing military offensive are pushing people there towards starvation and warned that they are seeing their own workers and Palestinians 'waste away'. Israel says it allows enough aid into the territory and faults delivery efforts by UN agencies, which say they are hindered by Israeli restrictions and the breakdown of security. The Prime Minister said: 'The suffering and starvation unfolding in Gaza is unspeakable and indefensible. 'While the situation has been grave for some time, it has reached new depths and continues to worsen. We are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe.' He said it is 'hard to see a hopeful future in such dark times' but called again for all sides to engage 'in good faith, and at pace' on a ceasefire and the release of all hostages. 'We strongly support the efforts of the US, Qatar and Egypt to secure this,' he said. Sir Keir will meet with Donald Trump during his five-day private trip to Scotland, due to kick off on Friday. US-led peace talks in Qatar have been cut short, the Trump administration's special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Thursday, pointing the finger at Hamas for a 'lack of desire to reach a ceasefire'. The deal under discussion is expected to include a 60-day ceasefire in which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others in phases in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Aid supplies would be ramped up and the two sides would hold negotiations on a lasting truce. Hamas-led militants based in Gaza abducted 251 people in the October 7 attack in 2023 that triggered the war and killed about 1,200 people. Fewer than half of the 50 hostages still in Gaza are believed to be alive.
