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Reuters
a few seconds ago
- Reuters
Zelenskiy dons more formal attire for high-stakes meeting with Trump
WASHINGTON, Aug 18 (Reuters) - The last time Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited the White House, his olive green military-style outfit drew scorn from U.S. President Donald Trump, who wears suits every day. Zelenskiy's garb at that February meeting featured in a disastrous session with Trump in which the two leaders bickered and the Ukrainian president was escorted out of the White House early, without lunch. On Monday, with his country facing pressure to accept a peace deal to end Europe's deadliest war in 80 years, Zelenskiy showed up for his talks with Trump wearing more formal attire. The black-on-black ensemble, sans tie, wasn't exactly a suit, but it seemed to please Trump all the same. A reporter who had asked Zelenskiy in February why he was not wearing a suit complimented the Ukraine leader on the attire he chose for his latest Oval Office session with Trump. "You look fabulous in that suit," the reporter said. Trump chimed in: "I said the same thing." This time, Zelenskiy got in a good-natured dig. "You're wearing the same suit," he told the reporter, drawing laughter. "I changed." The media-savvy Ukrainian leader had worn military-type outfits to show solidarity with the troops fighting Russian invaders since Moscow's 2022 full-scale invasion. But after the February meeting with Trump, Zelenskiy switched to a more formal wardrobe. When the two leaders met at Pope Francis's funeral in Rome in April, the Ukrainian president wore a heavy black field jacket and black shirt buttoned to the collar, with no tie.
Times
a few seconds ago
- Times
Homeowners could pay new property tax instead of stamp duty
Homeowners with properties worth more than £500,000 could have to pay annual property taxes under radical plans to replace stamp duty. The Treasury is reportedly considering a proportional property tax in the budget this autumn, according to The Guardian. Rather than paying stamp duty (which ranges from 2 per cent on the purchase price between £125,000 and £250,000, through to 12 per cent on the portion of the price above £1.5 million) anyone buying a home worth more than £500,000 would face an annual tax. For years there have been calls to overhaul stamp duty, which raised £13.8 billion for the Treasury in the 2024-25 tax year but has been criticised for putting homeowners off moving. There are no firm details to the proposal, but it was reported that the Treasury was looking at suggestions from the centre-right think tank Onward, which would involve homeowners with properties worth more than £500,000 paying a 0.54 per cent annual tax on any value above £500,000. Professor Tim Leunig from the London School of Economics, who came up with the proposals last August, said: 'The way Britain taxes households is both impractical and unfair. Stamp duty raises transaction costs, preventing people from moving for new job opportunities, and undermines growth.' Any home worth more than £1 million would pay 0.81 per cent on the portion of its value over that threshold. Onward's proposals were that the new tax would not be applied retrospectively but would be paid by anyone who bought a home after it was introduced. The 5 per cent stamp duty surcharge for additional homes would remain and those owners would not pay annual levies. Leunig also proposed scrapping council tax and replacing it with a 0.44 per cent annual property tax levied by local authorities on house value between £800 and £500,000 (a maximum of £2,196 a year). Then you would pay 0.54 per cent on the portion above £500,000 to the government, instead of stamp duty. Someone with a £650,000 home would pay £3,006 a year — 0.44 per cent of £499,200 (the maximum £2,196) to their council and then another £810 a year to the government. • Read more money advice and tips on investing from our experts Treasury officials are reportedly considering a local property tax 'in the medium term' according to the Guardian, while replacing stamp duty could come earlier. The campaign group Fairer Share is calling for the abolition of stamp duty and council tax and for them to be replaced with a flat 0.48 per cent annual property tax. Andrew Dixon from Fairer Share said the reported plans would be a 'step in the right direction'. 'We look forward to working closely with the government to deliver long-overdue reform — creating a modern property tax system that supports local services, reflects real property values, and shares the burden more fairly across homeowners,' he said. The Times reported in May that 83 per cent of homeowners in England would pay less under a 0.48 per cent annual property tax than they did under the council tax system. The biggest losers would be those in London and the south east according to the estate agency Hamptons. House prices in those areas have gone up the most since April 1991, when council tax bands were set based on property values. Dixon said: 'By taxing property transactions, stamp duty discourages homeowners from moving — be it an older couple downsizing or a growing family upsizing. Removing it would lead to a more effective use of housing.' Some 85 per cent of homeowners in England and Wales were 'under-occupiers' with one or more spare bedrooms, according to a survey of more than 4,300 by Barclays. Of those, 73 per cent were over 45, and 37 per cent were over 65. The proportion of homebuyers who were 45 or older has fallen from 45 per cent in the 2015-16 tax year to 39 per cent in 2023-24, according to the estate agency Savills. Some 41 per cent of 2,000 homeowners aged over 55 polled by the estate agency Jackson-Stops said they would downsize within two years if stamp duty was reduced or removed. David Fell from Hamptons said: 'Who is better off will come down to how closely the government chooses to follow any recommendations. But I think in response to the general principle, the shift would probably cut the cost of buying the most expensive homes, but add to the annual cost of ownership, particularly given the artificially low levels of council tax charged by many places that have the most expensive house prices. 'The impact of a change to the system would probably depend on the level at which the rates were set, and the length of time it takes for the higher ownership charges to outweigh existing stamp duty and council tax bills.' The Treasury said it did not comment on speculation about the budget.
Reuters
a few seconds ago
- Reuters
Trump administration revoked more than 6,000 student visas, State Dept says
WASHINGTON, Aug 18 (Reuters) - The administration of President Donald Trump has revoked more than 6,000 student visas for overstays and breaking the law, including a small minority for "support for terrorism," a State Department official said on Monday. The move, first reported by Fox Digital, comes as the Trump administration has adopted a particularly hard-line approach toward student visas as part of its immigration crackdown, tightening social media vetting and expanding screening. Directives from the State Department this year have ordered U.S. diplomats abroad to be vigilant against any applicants whom Washington may see as hostile to the United States and with a history of political activism. Around 4,000 visas were canceled because the visitors broke the law, with the vast majority being assault, the official said. Driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs and burglary were other offenses, the official added. About 200 to 300 visas were revoked for terrorism, the official said, citing a rule about visa ineligibility under the State Department's Foreign Affairs Manual. The rule identifies ineligibility grounds generally as "engaging in terrorist activities" and "having certain links to terrorist organizations." The official did not say which groups the students whose visas have been revoked were in support of. President Donald Trump has clashed with several top-level U.S. universities, accusing them of becoming bastions of antisemitism following large-scale student protests advocating for Palestinian rights amid the Gaza war. In his clash with Harvard, Trump has frozen funding for investigations and threatened to remove the university's tax-exempt status, prompting several European nations to increase research grants to attract talent. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said he has revoked the visas of hundreds, perhaps thousands of people, including students, because they got involved in activities which he said went against U.S. foreign policy priorities. Trump administration officials have said that student visa and green card holders are subject to deportation over their support for Palestinians and criticism of Israel's conduct in the war in Gaza, calling their actions a threat to U.S. foreign policy and accusing them of being pro-Hamas. A Tufts University student from Turkey was held for over six weeks in an immigration detention center in Louisiana after co-writing an opinion piece criticizing her school's response to Israel's war in Gaza. She was released from custody after a federal judge granted her bail. Trump's critics have called the effort an attack on free speech rights under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
