Latest news with #businessImpact
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rachel Reeves could scrap 'most hated tax' with UK households set to benefit
Rachel Reeves has been urged to scrap the "most hated tax'" on pensions as UK households face a raid. Pension savings are set to become liable for inheritance tax by April 2027 under a Labour Party shake-up. O n the death of the business owner the inheritance tax bill will have to be settled by the pension scheme, not from the overall estate. So the pension scheme will have to find some way to get cash from the assets in the pension. This could force a sale of premises or plants. Gary Smith, financial planning partner at Evelyn Partners, warned: "This could be a serious problem for thousands of small and medium-sized businesses, one that is currently flying under the radar, probably because it's not widely understood." READ MORE: HMRC giving UK households increased tax-free personal allowance of £15,640 READ MORE: State pensioners with more than £35,000 to their name set for bonus from DWP READ MORE Next UK heatwave set to be 'even hotter than expected' and will start within days Owners and directors who don't take advice or make preparations could fall foul of the new IHT charge, with the end result in some cases that their businesses are liquidated and jobs lost," Smith added. He described a retired client who owns commercial property worth £1.2million in their pension, generating £100,000 annual rent from their business tenant. "So what happens then? Will the pension scheme be able to borrow money to pay the tax bill, or will the business have to borrow money to buy the property, at high interest rates, and put cash in the pension scheme instead?" Smith asked. Tom Selby, AJ Bell's director of public policy, urged the Chancellor to reconsider, warning the proposals create "huge complexity" and could discourage pension saving altogether. He said: "'IHT is often described as the most hated tax and this data backs that up. Proposals to subject unused pensions funds to IHT on death are the most widely opposed of all the tax raising measures announced so far. 'It's not hard to see why individuals object to widening out the net of inheritance tax to catch pensions, perhaps resenting that their loved ones may be asked to pay tax twice on inherited pension funds – once through inheritance tax, and again via income tax. 'This potential double whammy of taxation will be seen as unfair by some, and could put off people saving in pensions in the first place or encourage others to run down pension pots, leaving themselves with little to live on in later years."
CTV News
05-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Business owner says Calgary Stampede brings big boost to their sales
Watch Owner and founder of Bullets N' Beeds Paulena Gidda shares her experience at Calgary Stampede and the positive impact it brings to her business.
CBS News
01-07-2025
- Business
- CBS News
How California state workers's delayed return to office will impact struggling Sacramento businesses
Many Downtown Sacramento business owners are surprised after the governor's mandate for state workers to return to the office four days a week starting on July 1 is now on pause. The delay comes after months of state workers picketing and labor unions negotiating. "Feeling like the stress has been lifted and feeling like there's more money in their pocket," said Cecilia Wilson, who works for the Department of Education and is on the board of SEIU 1000, the state's largest labor union. More money may be staying in state workers' pockets, but not in the pockets of struggling downtown business owners. Many of these businesses over the past few months have been gearing up for a business boom starting July 1, but now it's looking like it may be a business bust. This comes after over five years of struggling with a quieter downtown since most state workers went remote during the pandemic. "We are thriving off of them," said Cheryl Hernandez, co-owner of Bumble Bear Coffee. "That is 98% of our customers. These two-days-a-week people." Local developer John Vignocchi told CBS13 that state workers staying home is bad for existing businesses and for attracting new ones. "If you love Sacramento, this is not a good thing," said Vignocchi. "It kind of shows who runs the government. Certainly not Newsom, not legislatures or those who said they want the workers back five years after they vacated." Gov. Gavin Newsom has stayed strong in his stance on the return-to-office mandate but has now gone silent with the last-minute switch-up. "I think it's important for people to collaborate where people get the benefits, particularly young employees. mentorship and support," Newsom said during a press conference back in May. Labor unions reached an agreement that will pause the return to office mandate four days a week until July 1, 2026. "Even though it will impact my business, I will still be on the state workers' side," said Hernandez. "It does give the opportunity to do something outside of the box to attract people." CBS13 reached out to the governor's office for comment. It directed us to Cal HR to respond on the administration's behalf. It gave this statement:
CBS News
30-06-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Micro grant program launched for Denver businesses affected by BRT construction on Colfax Avenue
As construction continues on East Colfax Avenue, Walter McDonald waits and watches. "We're doing okay, we're getting by," he told CBS News Colorado. "But other businesses, you can really see that it can shut them down." His tattoo shop, Lifetime Tattoo, has been in business on the stretch just past Lafayette Street and Colfax Avenue for 24 years. But now he's seeing the effects of the Bus Rapid Transit, or "BRT," construction on businesses and neighbors. "[The disruption is] definitely on par with COVID in terms of the impact it's had on our business," McDonald said. Walter McDonald, owner of Lifetime Tattoos in Denver, talks about the impact on business the ongoing construction on the Bus Rapid Transit system is having. CBS Earlier in 2025, the city of Denver unveiled grant applications to help businesses impacted by the construction. Among the various criteria to be eligible for up to $15,000 per business, owners had to prove that they suffered a 20% loss or higher directly tied to the road work. CBS Colorado talked to many business owners who expressed concerns that the city was trying to disprove the impacts more than they were trying to help the businesses that were hurting. The Colfax Ave Business Improvement District has been working closely with owners up and down the strip. Denon Moore, business support director for the district and a Colfax Avenue business owner herself, told CBS Colorado that they've rolled out a program of microgrants entirely funded by private sources to be able to provide individual businesses with somewhere between $500 and $1,500 to those who need it. Unlike the city grants, a business would have to prove a 10% loss directly tied to the impacts. Denon Moore, business support director for the Colfax Ave Business Improvement District, talks about grants being offered to business owners along Colfax Avenue to help offset the hit they've experienced during construction of the Bus Rapid Transit system. CBS "We think of it as a tool," Moore said. "They can put $1,500 towards a project to stimulate sales for some type of promotion. I'm on the street every day speaking with operators. I don't think it's hard for many of them to see a 10% loss has occurred." The micro grants could serve a variety of purposes, Moore said. It could be seed money for projects or marketing campaigns to drum up business or add another revenue stream. They could also be used as a stopgap for a bill or unexpected expense that an owner already on the margins due to construction could absorb. McDonald is thankful for the grants but worries it might be too little, too late. The impacts have already been significant, with some businesses announcing they will be shutting down directly due to the BRT construction. Construction for the bus rapid transit project on East Colfax Avenue in Denver, Colorado on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post via Getty Images "It is a nice gesture, but it's not gonna help us," McDonald said. "But the lack of foresight, the lack of planning on the impact to small businesses is unbelievable." As Moore and the district continue to try and find ways to help their neighbors, while others like McDonald aim to survive and keep Colfax's culture alive in a post-construction era. The work is expected to continue through 2025.
CBC
15-06-2025
- Business
- CBC
Some 11th Avenue Regina businesses say revitalization project is harming bottom lines
Social Sharing Businesses on 11th Avenue in downtown Regina are saying the revitalization project on the street is driving away customers, leading one longtime store to leave the area for good, while another plans to do the same next year. Mortise and Tenon, a household goods retailer, and Norwood, a clothing store, are both relocating to the Cathedral neighborhood. The owners say the move is a consequence of the 11th Avenue revitalization project, which has torn up the street in a multi-year effort to replace aging infrastructure and sidewalks. It is planned to be completed in 2027. "My concern is that by the time this is over, there may not be anyone left on 11th to welcome everybody back to the downtown," said Mortise and Tenon co-owner Dani Hackle. The project is being completed in phases, blocking off two to four blocks at a time. Currently, the road is closed between Albert and Lorne streets. The sidewalks on both sides of the street are still accessible, but the street itself is blocked off, disrupting parking and public transit. The project coincides with several major revitalization efforts taking place around the city. Dewdney Avenue, Saskatchewan Drive and Scarth Street also have upgrades planned or underway. Hackle moved her business from a location on 11th Avenue to 13th Avenue in the Cathedral area in October 2024. Mortise and Tenon had been on 11th Avenue since January 2016. "What we were finding is that not only were we losing our regular customers who were having a hard time navigating the construction and the detours and all of that, but we also weren't gaining any new customers downtown because you just couldn't get to our space," she said. Concern for other businesses Hackle said she appreciates the goal of the revitalization project and is optimistic about how 11th Avenue will look when construction is finished, but is worried about how many businesses in the area will survive until its completion. "I don't see how we would have been able to make it work," she said of her own business's prospects had it stayed in its previous location. "Plus the vision of our business and where we were headed wouldn't have been conducive downtown anymore." Clothing store Norwood is currently operating a new location on 13th Avenue, alongside its older location downtown on 11th Avenue, but will fully transition into its 13th Avenue space in 2026. Cornelia Biegler, who co-owns Norwood and Tiki Room, said Norwood's lease is up, and that the lower foot traffic and higher crime downtown is leading her to make the move. "We're not coming back. We have no desire to be down there," she said. "There's no [Winnipeg] Folk Festival this year, there's no farmers' market downtown anymore. There's no reason for anybody to come downtown, which is so sad. "But literally there's nothing going on. So now I'm on 13th Avenue, and this is a vibrant community. Like, there's stuff going on constantly here." Biegler said she has no plans to move Tiki Room, which sells skateboards and clothing. Culture Grooming Lounge, which is just down the street from Norwood and Tiki Room, also has no plans to leave. John Christie, the barbershop's manager, said Culture has lost a few clients with the construction, but he's generally optimistic about riding out the disruptions. "The lucky part about us being a barber shop is people have an appointment, they're gonna come," he said. "They're gonna be late, and the majority of our clients are late, but they still come." "If we were a retailer, if we were a restaurant, people would just go somewhere else." How one business is adapting A restaurant just down the street from Culture is The Cure Kitchen + Bar, which is co-owned by Kelly Cairns. She said the construction has been disruptive, but has found ways to cope with anticipated lower revenue. She does not have plans to move. "We're still seeing a lot of our regulars, so we're doing OK. We are closing for a week in July just to help with cost, just because we usually have a slowdown in July anyway," she said. "We've also just scaled back a little bit on our events for this summer as well and to reduce the size of our patio." "We're kind of taking an austerity approach or kind of scaling down something just to cut a few costs in anticipation of sales going down." What the mayor is saying In a conversation with the CBC's Morning Edition on June 12, Regina Mayor Chad Bachynski said he's heard the concerns about the construction, but encourages people to remember the long-term benefits of the project, which should bring significantly more people to the area compared to before. "I absolutely acknowledge that it can be frustrating to get around," he said. "But when we're talking about 11th Avenue in particular, there's infrastructure underground there that's being replaced that is from 1913.
