Latest news with #governmentspending
The Independent
16-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Elon Musk changed his phone number after nasty split with Trump, says Mike Johnson
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson claims billionaire and CEO Elon Musk changed his phone number after his public falling-out with President Donald Trump. Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, told The New York Post he discovered the change while trying to text Musk amid the 'Big, Beautiful Bill' drama. Johnson previously said Musk ghosted him after the billionaire blew up at Trump over the sweeping spending and tax bill, which cuts taxes for wealthy Americans while curbing access to healthcare and food access programs for millions. 'I sent him a long text message, and then his phone number changed, because after the blow-up, something happened with his,' Johnson told The New York Post. '[Later I] realized I was sending it out into the ether somewhere and he never read it, so I look forward to meeting with him in person,' he added. 'We got to make that right.' Musk, once known as the 'First Buddy,' sparked a public feud with the president last month over the 'Big, Beautiful Bill,' Trump's sweeping spending and tax bill. Trump signed the bill on July 4. But for a month leading up to its passage, Musk railed against it, arguing it would increase the budget deficit by $2.5 trillion. 'I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore,' Musk wrote of Trump's bill on June 3. 'This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination.' Musk spent several months this year leading the Department of Government Efficiency 's efforts to slash government spending. Under his leadership, DOGE laid off hundreds of thousands of federal employees, hollowed out several agencies and terminated thousands of government contracts and grants. Musk and Trump continued to spar until June 5, when the former DOGE leader claimed the president appeared in the Epstein files. 'Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files,' Musk wrote. 'That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!' Tensions appeared to ease soon afterward. Musk expressed 'regret' on June 11 for the posts he made about the president, while Trump revealed he had 'no hard feelings' toward Musk. Soon after the bill was signed, Musk announced that he would be forming the new 'America Party.' 'When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy,' he wrote on X. Trump called the idea 'ridiculous.' The president also threatened to 'take a look at' deporting Elon Musk to South Africa, where he was born and raised for several years.
Daily Mail
09-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Labour Left's £120BILLION tax menu: MPs tell Reeves to hike NICs again, target banks and hammer shareholders to fund 'unsustainable' spending splurge
Labour left-wingers have laid out a menu of tax hikes to fund even more government spending. Keir Starmer has urged to raise up to £120billion from Brits by increasing national insurance again, targeting banks and hammering shareholders. The laundry list of raids - equivalent to adding 14 per cent to the government's total tax take last year - emerged as Rachel Reeves desperately scrambles for ways to balance the books. But it is highly uncertain whether the suggestions would bring in the amounts claimed, with the Treasury's OBR watchdog already warning ministers against relying on milking huge amounts from a few thousand 'mobile' wealthy people. Alarm has been growing in government over how to fill an estimated £30billion hole in the public finances at the Autumn Budget. The Chancellor seems to have been backed into a corner after the PM bowed to a massive Labour revolt against welfare curbs. She has vowed to stick to her fiscal rules on borrowing, and said Labour will keep the manifesto pledge not to hike taxes on income tax, employee national insurance or VAT. But Ms Reeves has acknowledged there will be a 'cost' to U-turns on benefits and winter fuel allowance. The tax burden is already set to hit a new high as a proportion of GDP after the last Budget imposed a £41billion increase - the biggest on record for a single package The tax burden is already set to hit a new high as a proportion of GDP after the last Budget imposed a £41billion increase - the biggest on record for a single package. And the respected IFS think-tank has warned the stalling economy means the looming tax increases might need to be on a similar scale. Sir Keir refused to rule out extending the long-running freeze on tax thresholds as he was grilled by Kemi Badenoch in the Commons today. The move could raise around £10billion a year by dragging millions of Brits deeper into the tax system. However, the Left of his party are encouraging Sir Keir to be more radical in his approach. Posting on social media this week, Labour backbencher Nadia Whittome gave a list of 10 tax increases that had been floated by colleagues as alternatives to disability benefit cuts. 'The problem is an exploitative, extractive economic system rigged against most people and our planet. The solution is not further cuts - we need to tax extreme wealth instead,' she said. She claimed that equalising capital gains tax rates with income tax rates could bring in £12billion a year, and ending 'stealth subsidies for banks' £50billion. Taxing gambling to raise £3.4billion was another option cited, while stopping 'rich multinational corporations evading tax and mandating that they declare their profits wherever they operate' would apparently bring in £15billion. Applying NICs to investment income was credited with boosting Treasury coffers by £10.2billion, scrapping fossil fuel subsidies for oil and gas companies £2.2billion, and taxing private jets £1.2billion. Ms Whittome referenced proposals to abolish a 'carried interest loophole' for private equity bosses so they 'pay their fair share', and mentioned a 9. 4 per cent tax on share buybacks - suggesting those measures could raise hundreds of millions of pounds more. The MP added that 'many of us' have called for a 2 per cent tax on assets worth more than £10million, which was valued as a £24billion boost. In a report on fiscal risks published yesterday, the OBR warned that the public finances looked to be 'unsustainable' in the longer term with debt on track to hit 270 per cent of GDP by the 2070s. The watchdog said it had previously raised concerns about the 'narrowing of tax bases' where revenues were 'reliant on a smaller group of taxpayers'. 'The changes focused on high-net-worth individuals include the reforms to the non-domicile regime in the March and October 2024 Budgets, which were estimated to boost receipts by a peak of £13.1 billion in 2027-28, mostly from a population of under 10,000 individuals,' the report said. 'In addition, changes to capital gains tax at the October 2024 Budget were forecast to increase revenues by £2.5billion in 2029-30, with a majority of the revenue coming from the under 6,000 taxpayers making gains larger than £2million each year. 'Higher earners' behavioural responses to tax changes are more uncertain and potentially higher than assumed in costings. A growing reliance on this small and mobile group of taxpayers therefore represents a fiscal risk.' What are the Chancellor's options for taxing the wealthy? Tax on assets Lord Kinnock suggested at the weekend that ministers are looking at a 2 per cent charge on assets over £10million. He said the move could raise up to £11billion a year and be popular with a 'great majority of the general public'. However, the devil would be in the detail of such a policy, with questions about what kind of assets were covered. It could also provoke a fresh exodus of the wealthy from the UK. Capital gains Capital gains tax is set at a lower rate than income tax, and bringing the rates closer - or even level - could potentially raise significant sums. Currently a higher-rate taxpayer will be liable for just 24 per cent CGT on profits from selling a second home or shares. But if that money was income it would be taxed at 40 per cent. Top rate of tax The last Labour government introduced at 50p top rate of tax in 2010. That was cut back to 45p in 2013 by the Coalition. Many on the Left would like to see it go back up. However, there is already a significant cliff edge for higher earners, after Jeremy Hunt reduced the threshold for the top rate to £125,000 and tapered out the personal allowance. The IFS think-tank has suggested increasing the top rate would only make a 'marginal contribution' to the public finances.
South China Morning Post
08-07-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China told its officials to tighten their belts. Did they go a notch too far?
This is the first story in a three-part series exploring the domestic economic challenges China faces as it navigates an unprecedented trade war with the United States. In this piece, we explore Beijing's drive to rein in wasteful government spending – and its unintended consequences. Wang, a civil servant from a small town in northeastern China, is too scared to go to restaurants these days. He even skipped his niece's wedding due to his fear of being seen at a banquet. An avid foodie, the 55-year-old used to dine with his friends once or twice a day – usually at purely social gatherings unrelated to his government job. But now, even casual meals out can cause serious problems. 'Nobody dares to stick their neck out nowadays,' said Wang, who declined to give his full name for privacy reasons. 'So I only eat at home now.' Wang is one of millions of Chinese state-sector workers who have been impacted by a government austerity drive that has sent shock waves across the country in recent weeks, hitting businesses hard and sparking concern in the corridors of Beijing The campaign started in May when the central government introduced stricter rules for civil servants and state-owned enterprise employees attending official receptions, which banned the consumption of cigarettes, liquor and 'high-end dishes'. The new guidelines were the latest in a string of measures to limit ostentatious celebrations by officials – a practice viewed as a waste of public funds and a slippery slope to corruption – that have long been a source of simmering public resentment.
Telegraph
08-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Labour accused of U-turn after consultants' bill hits £1.3bn
Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of U-turning on a pledge to cut the Government's reliance on consultants after figures showed spending rose during Labour's first year in power. The public sector has awarded 580 contracts worth £1.29bn to consultancies including Deloitte, McKinsey and PwC since Labour entered office on July 5 last year. It marks a 5pc increase on the £1.23bn awarded under the former government during the same period a year earlier, figures from Tussell show. It comes despite Labour's pledge to cut all unnecessary spending on consultancies, with the aim of saving £1.2bn by 2026. The plans saw it place new controls on the use of external advisers by Whitehall civil servants. Nathaniel Fried, who until recently led Reform UK's cost-cutting division, accused the Government of falling short on its pledge. He highlighted figures showing the party itself took over £100,000 worth of free work from top consultancies in the run-up to the general election last July. He said: 'Labour has accepted hundreds of thousands of pounds in free labour from EY and PwC and is now U-turning on their promise to cut spending on said consultants by hundreds of millions. 'The 'big four' consultancies have infiltrated every level of our government. Reliance on them is hollowing out the Civil Service, reducing in-house expertise and creating external reliance.' 'No surprise' The Labour Party accepted free work worth £100,208 from PwC in the run-up to last year's general election. EY provided another £45,015 of help in the first three quarters of 2024, Electoral Commission figures show. Tussell's figures show that spending on consultancies has continued to increase even as the Government has managed to cut the total number of contracts awarded, from 687 in the year ending in June 2024 to 580 in the 12 months to June 2025. Fiona Czerniawska, the chief executive of consultancy Source Global Research, said: 'The public sector depends on consultants. 'It's very difficult to imagine at the moment that you could cut back the use of consultants significantly, unless there's a very equivalent significant investment in the skill set of the Civil Service.' Major awards include a £186m contract given to KPMG by the Cabinet Office to train civil servants and a £120m technology contract handed to Deloitte by HM Revenue and Customs, Tussell's data shows. Mr Fried said: 'It is no surprise as the Labour benches are full of former consultants who do not believe in the extremely capable Civil Service and would prefer to outsource everything and waste taxpayer money.' Mr Fried was recruited by Reform's Zia Yusuf to lead the party's department of government efficiency, a cost-cutting unit modelled on Elon Musk's Doge in the US. Mr Fried, a 28-year-old tech entrepreneur, left the role in June after Mr Yusuf resigned as chairman of Reform. Tamzen Isaacson, the chief executive of the Management Consultancies Association, said: 'It is unrealistic to expect government to employ a vast pool of private sector experts and resources and far more cost-efficient to use them for short-term projects helping improve the efficiency and delivery of critical national services.' A Cabinet Office spokesman said: 'We are rooting out wasteful spending and driving efficiency across government with over £550m saved from reducing spending on consultancy services in 2024/25. 'Alongside our previously announced target of saving £680m in 2025/26, we went further in the spending review and confirmed we would cut consultancy spend all the way through to 2029 saving £700m annually.' The spokesman noted that Tussell's data included contracts awarded across the public sector, including through bodies such as NHS England and local councils. The UK Government's pledges referred only to spending by the Civil Service, they added. EY and PwC declined to comment. The Labour Party was contacted for comment.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Canadian government seeks billions of dollars of savings over next three years
By Promit Mukherjee (Reuters) -Canada's finance minister has asked all ministries to find savings, assess spending on programs, cut down on work duplication and look to reallocate funds from other programs to priority projects, a government official said on Monday. Citing two letters sent by Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, along with the President of the Treasury Board Shafqat Ali, the official said the letters are primarily seeking ministries to become financially disciplined. Prime Minister Mark Carney has promised billions of dollars of new spending from defense to housing to massive nation-building projects. But he had also set a new fiscal goal of balancing the operating budget by 2028-29. While the details of how that will be achieved are still not clear, economists have said that in the absence of any major savings or a big bump in growth, the government's increasing spending pressures will keep deficits perennially high. The official said Carney's plan had been to spend less and invest more. With investment boosted through various bills and measures, the focus is now on spending less, the official said. The official was not authorized to speak on record. The finance ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Globe and Mail was the first to report the news. The finance ministry has asked all ministries to find savings not just for one year but in the long term, the official added. All the ministries have been asked to find 7.5% from program spending for the 2026-27 fiscal year, followed by 10% in the next year and 15% in the year after. The government has asked the ministries to review their current budget, assess their ongoing programs, check whether a spending measure is meeting the objective of the program, see if some programs are being duplicated at the provincial or the municipal level and report back to the ministry. The ministries have also been asked to identify three priorities inside their ministries and reallocate funds from another program for those, the official added. The Finance Ministry is preparing for its budget document for the current fiscal year, which is likely to be presented in Parliament in early October. 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
