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Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Certain households in England face £567 rise in council tax
The areas facing £500 council tax rises have been revealed - with Labour Party Chancellor Rachel Reeves accused of "ultimate stealth tax" after allowing increases of 5 per cent a year. The analysis by the TaxPayers' Alliance reveals that Gateshead faces the largest rise, with typical bills expected to be £567 higher there in 2028/29. With maximum increases imposed, the bill for a Band D home would rise from £2,578 to £3,145. Nottingham (up £563 for Band D and £1,126 for Band H) Rutland (£550 and £1,100) and Bristol (£549 and £1,108) are also namechecked. Taxpayers in Dorset, Hastings, Oxford and Newark and Sherwood will also see increases of more than £500. READ MORE: Major UK bank set to transfer all five million customers to rival READ MORE: HMRC warns UK households to 'declare it' or face fines and prison sentence READ MORE State pensioners 'caught off guard' after becoming 'casualty' of HMRC The highest council tax bills will be in Rutland, where charges will increase from £2,671 this year to £3,221. Elliot Keck, head of campaigns at the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: 'Council tax is the ultimate stealth tax, given the way in which successive governments have piled on responsibilities to town halls without the resources to pay for them but with the permission to hike bills for residents. 'And this Government clearly intends to continue this trend by allowing years of above-inflation council tax rises, further increasing the crippling tax burden on British families and workers. 'By the end of this Parliament, the grim milestone of the first £3,000 Band D council tax bill will have been reached. 'Labour should impose lower, inflation-linked referendum caps on councils and aim for national solutions to crises such as that around social care.' It comes as Rachel Reeves has 'one hand tied behind her back' as she considers how to balance the books next month in her first budget, according to experts. The IFS said Labour entered office faced with 'unenviable arithmetic'. 'Merely avoiding spending cuts would – if debt is to fall – likely require raising tens of billions of additional revenue by 2028-29,' the report said.
Entrepreneur
27 minutes ago
- Entrepreneur
Time to Scale Responsibly
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. In the early days of India's startup revolution, the narrative was simple:grow fast, scale faster. Today, however, growth without responsibility is no longer viable. As India continues to mint unicorns and cement its place as the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) integration has emerged as a defining driver of purposeful growth. It is no longer a corporate luxury—it is a strategic necessity for building resilient, future-forward businesses that can thrive in a changing world. Startups must embed ESG principles to remain competitive and investment-ready. They possess the agility and freedom from legacy systems when combined with an innovation driven mindset, uniquely positioning them to integrate sustainability into their operations from day one. But Many Don't. In the race for product market fit and funding, ESG is often seen as a 'later stage problem'—a costly oversight. Recent challenges faced by Indian startups show how weak governance can erode trust and stall momentum. ESG goes ESG scrutiny across the broader ecosystem. From FY 2025-26onwards,the top 250 listed companies are encouraged to voluntarily disclose ESG metrics for their value chains, with assessment or assurance applicants from FY 2026-27. The value chain shall encompass top upstream and downstream partners of a listed entity, individually comprising 2% or more of the entity's purchases and sales (by value) respectively; and the listed entity may limit disclosure of value chain to cover 75% of its purchases and sales (by value) respectively. For startups, SEBI's ESG norms carry two implications. First, IPO bound startups must understand how these disclosure requirements beyond emissions and diversity—it's about building resilient, transparent enterprises aligned with today's stakeholders. Investor expectations are equally clear and increasingly aligned across the capital spectrum. Development finance institutions (DFIs) or DFI backed venture capitalists (VCs) are embedding ESG filters into their deal screening and portfolio monitoring processes and without demonstrating ESG readiness, many startups may not even reach the term sheet stage. For IPO-bound start ups, the stakes are even higher—ESG now influences valuation premiums, investor confidence and post-listing reputation. According to the Journal of Economics & Management (2025), top quartile ESG performers saw significantly less underpricing on the day of their US IPOs. In India too, ESG metrics are now appearing in draft red herring prospectuses, with investors scrutinizing everything, from board structure to climate resilience. On the regulatory front, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has introduced the BRSR Core framework to enhance disclosures for the top 1,000 listed companies (by market capitalization). While the framework is aimed at public companies, its ripple effects extend beyond the listed space, intensifying apply once listed. Second, startups that serve as vendors or partners to listed firms should prepare to share ESG data as part of value chain reporting. Startups don't need to adopt complex frameworks overnight, but they do need a starting point. Materiality assessments, which identify the ESG issues most relevant to their sector and stakeholders, can offer the clarity and direction needed at the onset. It is time for India's startup ecosystem to lead not just in scale, but in sustainability. Founders who embed ESG early won't just meet expectations—they will define them.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
The FTSE 100's at record highs! But is it about to plummet?
The FTSE 100 has enjoyed a stellar year, so far. Up 10.7% since 1 January, it's outperformed multiple other major blue-chip share indices including the S&P 500 (up 7.3%), Nasdaq (up 8.5%) and the Nikkei (up 3.2%). In that time, it's touched record highs, approaching 9,200 points over the past week. And it looks poised to hit new all-time peaks given strong demand for undervalued UK shares. Or does it? Data from IG suggests that investor sentiment may actually be turning against the Footsie — it shows shorting activity involving the index rose 34% last month. Shorting involves traders borrowing an asset and selling it, on the hope of buying it back more cheaply later on. But what are the chances of a full-blown correction? And what steps should I, as holder of FTSE 100 stocks, protect myself from such an event? Red lights flashing? On the one hand, the recent shorting boom will partly reflect investors looking to capitalise on a fall as individuals book profits. Short-term pullbacks are common during strong bull runs for this reason; they don't necessarily mark a broader reversal in market confidence. However, the red lights are flashing as trade tariffs bite and the global economy cools. Chief investment officer Mike Wilson of Morgan Stanley puts the chances of an S&P 500 correction at 10% by the end of the year, he told Bloomberg. Other brokerages and banks put the chances of a retracement still higher. On the one hand, this may reflect the sky-high valuations many US shares still command. Yet with a large contingent of cyclical shares (like banks, miners, airlines and energy producers), the FTSE may also decline if economic conditions worsen and sentiment sours. Correction? So what? Yet I'm not panicking about what may be around the corner. This is because stock markets have a habit of rebounding sharply from corrections. The Footsie is a prime example, recovering from multiple catastrophes like pandemics, banking sector meltdowns, wars and sovereign debt crises down the years, and culminating in July's record highs. This shows how patient investors are rewarded for not selling up and running for the hills. In fact, those that buy in when shares fall can enjoy supersized returns when the market recovers. It's a strategy that made me money when global stock markets fell sharply earlier this year. So I'm holding cash to jump in again and go bargain-shopping if they drop again. Ashtead Group's (LSE:AHT) one FTSE 100 share I'll be looking to buy if prices fall in the near future. I think it could be a strong contender to fall given the raft of patchy data coming from the US. The rental equipment supplier makes 92% of revenues from North America. It may drop heavily, in fact. But I'd expect Ashtead shares to recover strongly over the long term. The landscape's rich with opportunity as major new infrastructure projects come on stream. And the company has significant scope and financial strength to capitalise on this through further acquisitions. Over two-thirds of the US market's controlled by smaller companies (ie those outside the four largest operators). This leaves Ashtead's Sunbelt brand (which has an 11% market share) room for more significant expansion. The post The FTSE 100's at record highs! But is it about to plummet? appeared first on The Motley Fool UK. More reading 5 Stocks For Trying To Build Wealth After 50 One Top Growth Stock from the Motley Fool Royston Wild has positions in Ashtead Group Plc. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Ashtead Group Plc. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Motley Fool UK 2025 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
