Latest news with #taxhike
Bloomberg
24-07-2025
- Automotive
- Bloomberg
Tesla Faces Fresh Setback in Key Market After Turkish Tax Shock
Tesla Inc. 's efforts to offset slumping European sales with gains in Turkey may be at risk after a surprise tax hike in one of the automaker's fastest-growing markets. Turkey has raised the lowest tier of its special consumption tax for electric vehicles — which includes Tesla's top-selling Model Y — to 25% from 10%, according to a presidential decree published in the country's Official Gazette.
Daily Mail
20-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE How Labour is 'taxing the high street into bankruptcy': Family-run pubs, bakeries and shops are hit with sneaky 200% hikes in business rates
Labour was today accused of 'taxing the high street into bankruptcy' through their punishing 'stealth' levy on small firms. Since Rachel Reeves quietly reduced much–needed reliefs last autumn, family–run pubs, bakeries and restaurants have been battered a rise in business rates. Startling figures recorded by one council reveal an independent pub was stung by a 226 per cent hike in fees, costing them almost £17,000 for one year. Meanwhile, supermarkets escaped with rises of as little as one per cent in business rates, which are similar to council tax for non–domestic properties. Although MailOnline has only obtained business rate rises for Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC) – an area that covers Leighton Buzzard, Dunstable and Biggleswade, experts warn the situation will be mirrored up and down the country. Cllr John Baker, who controls the pursestrings at CBC, said: 'The government seems totally incapable of controlling public spending, clobbering business to fund its profligate behaviour. 'If the Chancellor is serious about improving the poor economic climate, reversing those outrageous hikes in business rates and allowing businesses to hire more people would be a sensible first step.' Department stores and supermarkets are also in the firing line in the Chancellor's next Budget. In hope of clawing back billions, Ms Reeves is expected to increase business rates for bigger firms – despite warnings it will only accelerate the decline of the high street and lead to price rises. In last autumn's budget, Ms Reeves boasted that she was extending business rates reliefs for retail, hospitality, and leisure. But she actually reduced the Covid-era discount from 75 to 40 per cent – capped at £110,000 across an entire business. Smaller businesses are typically the biggest beneficiaries because they have fewer locations to spread this discount across. During the same budget, branded a 'disaster' by critics, Ms Reeves hiked employer National Insurance contributions and cut the threshold at which firms become liable to pay them. The minimum wage also rose to £12.21 an hour. The Federation of Small Businesses warned the triple whammy posed 'an existential threat to the future of the high street'. Paul Wilson, the FSB's policy chief, told MailOnline the 40 per cent relief was 'scant consolation for a squeezed business owners trying to find thousands of pounds'. He said businesses couldn't fight back by hiking their own prices because customers 'can only afford so much'. Job cuts and shorter opening hours – caused by businesses trying to claw back cash – risked handing bigger players an even greater advantage, Mr Wilson claimed. He said: 'The feedback were are hearing is that businesses are having to take those difficult decisions to scale back. High street businesses are questioning whether they can genuinely afford to keep competing with online.' The FSB's latest survey showed a record 41 per cent of small businesses now believe the tax burden is a top three barrier to growth. In Bedfordshire, local pubs and restaurants have seen their rates more than double. Data provided by Cllr Baker shows this costs businesses as much as £25,000 a year – more than a minimum wage full–time workers' annual salary. Award–winning pub, the Black Lion, on Leighton Buzzard High Street, was hit with a 226 per cent rise (£16,900) in its rates, from around £7,400 to £24,300. By contrast, many big supermarkets such as Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury's saw their rates raise by less than two per cent. Other firms have seen even bigger jump proportionally, including upmarket eatery Eileen's by Steve Barringer – a MasterChef: The Professionals finalist – where rates have shot up 260 per cent, from £300 to £1,080. What are business rates and who has to pay? Business rates are charged on most non-domestic properties, including shops, offices, pubs, warehouses, factories and holiday rental homes or guest houses. Rates are calculated by the Valuation Office Agency, part of HM Revenues and Customs, based on the cost of renting the business premises for a year, currently from April 2021. A rates 'multiplier' is then used to come to the final amount. This number has risen from about 34p in the pound in 1990 to 54.6p today for premises with a rateable value more than £51,000 or 49.9p for if it is less. Certain properties are exempt from business rates, for example farm buildings or places used for the welfare of disabled people. Other firms are entitled to discounts based on the nature and size of their business, for example, independent pubs and shops are likely to be eligible for at least one relief. Our analysis suggested that, on average, independent food and drink venues saw a 120 per cent rise in business rates, compared to an average of just one per cent for bigger firms. We have defined independent businesses as any which receives a relief designed to help what many would consider small or independent local firms. This is wider than just the businesses that get 'small business rates relief', which only applies to property with a rateable value of less than £15,000 and if the business has only one premise. Husband and wife Anthony and Anne Smith, who have owned and run two framing shops in Bedfordshire for the past 40 years, have been hit by a 150 per cent rise in their business rates. It will cost them more than £5,500 extra a year. Allframe, which employs half a dozen staff across the Leighton Buzzard and Dunstable sites, will likely have to raise their prices more than expected to cope, despite fears this could disrupt sales. Mr Smith told MailOnline: 'The problem you've got in any business when you get price increases is that you have to absorb the increase or put prices up. 'We've tried not to put our prices up as we're a luxury business. 'People need to go to to Tesco and Aldi to put food on the table... but don't need to get their pictures framed professionally.' The picture framer added that rates rises will 'ultimately go into it when we reevaluate prices'. Mr Smith added: 'Five thousands pounds is a lot to come off your bottom line in one fell swoop, when it's something you weren't expecting.' 'It will mean our prices go up more than we would have liked them to. It's going to impact on our profitability.' 'I think there's a general feeling that it's always small and medium businesses that that get hit,' Steve Watkins, cabinet member for business at Central Bedfordshire Council told MailOnline. 'These businesses have struggled since the pandemic and have not been able to get back to where they were before. 'The Government should target the big players in the market, rather than smaller businesses. Where's the huge tax increases on Starbucks and Amazon? 'If they want to regenerate town centres they are going about it the wrong way by making it harder for small businesses to survive.' He said the added costs are making it 'harder then ever' for small business owners, who are already facing skyrocketing rents, energy bills and wage bills, adding that they were at 'the end of their tether'. In Labour's manifesto, the PM pledged to replace business rates – which he said 'disincentivises investment, creates uncertainty and places an undue burden on our high streets' – with a new system. Business rates are calculated based on multiplying the 'rateable value' – an estimate of the annual rent in April 2021 prices – by a multiplier of 49.9p for the smallest of businesses, and 55.5p for all others. The Government announced last year it will permanently introduce a lower multiplier for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses with a rateable value of less than £500,000. The multiplier value is yet to be announced. Cllr Watkins accused Sir Keir of 'not being upfront with people' over the reduction in the rates relief, saying the announcement was the 'politics of spin'. He said the rates were a 'stealth tax' on business and were not as 'generous' as the Government claims, adding they 'absolutely have the possibility of taxing high streets and small businesses into bankruptcy'. Cllr Watkins added that if the direction of travel continues, it was hard to see how local businesses will still be around in a few years time, leading to an 'increasingly soulless high street'. 'If this is the first step to reforming, I dread to see what the next steps will be, as these ones have gone down like a cup of cold sick,' he added. 'Technocratic governments are big on five to ten year plans, but these businesses need plans now. 'The proof will be in the pudding... but the fact that they've not been upfront so far suggests we need to dig beneath the surface before I start clapping my hands.' A Government spokesman told MailOnline: 'Our reform to the business rates system will create a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment, and levels the playing field. 'A new, permanently lower business rates in 2026 will benefit over 280,000 retail, hospitality and leisure business properties and will be sustainably funded by a new, higher rate on the 1% of most valuable business properties.'
Irish Times
18-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Dublin property tax set to rise by up to one third, as councillors vote on hikes
Dublin city homeowners face a hike of up to one-third in their local property tax (LPT) bills next year, if councillors follow through on an agreed increase in the tax rate today. City councillors are expected to vote for the first rise in property tax rates since the charge was introduced in 2013. The change in the city rate, coupled with the upcoming national LPT revaluation, means most homeowners can expect to pay between 22 per cent and 34 per cent more in their bills next year. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil city councillors have consistently voted for the lowest possible annual LPT charge, but following last year's local elections agreed to increases from 2026 to secure the support of the Green Party and Labour for a power pact on the council. David McWilliams on how 'big incentives' to build could save Dublin city Listen | 36:51 Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil would not agree to increase the LPT in advance of last November's election, but acceded to the increase from 2026 and for each subsequent year until the next local elections in 2029. READ MORE LPT, which is based on the value of a property, has a base rate that can be raised or lowered by 15 per cent by councillors each year. Since the introduction of the tax in 2013, Dublin city councillors have always voted for the maximum discount. The three other Dublin local authorities also typically apply varying discounts, but outside the capital, most councils raise the charge by 15 per cent each year. If the discount is no longer applied, Dubliners' bills would increase by 15 per cent. However, this move coincides with a national property tax revaluation this November, which comes into force next year, and will mean increased charges for each of the 20 'valuation bands'. The last revaluation was in 2021 and properties in the capital have since increased by an average of about 20 per cent. However, to avoid large hikes in the charge, the value of properties in each band has been increased. The first band will now extend from zero to €240,000, rather than €200,000, with other bands also increasing. This means that 96 per cent of properties will stay in their existing band, but homeowners will face increased charges. A property valued between €420,001 to €525,000 will attract a charge of €428, up from €344.25 from this year's equivalent, also an increase of just over 24 per cent. However, homeowners with higher value properties can expect steeper increases. Houses which will be valued from €1,470,001 to €1,575,000 will have a €1,797 charge, up from €1,382.95, a 30 per cent increase. At the top of the scale, a homeowner in band 19 will get a bill for €3,110, an increase of more than 34 per cent. The rate increase will provide an additional €16.4 million in funds for the council, one-third of which will go towards improving the lives of those living in council housing, said Labour Cllr Darragh Moriarty, by replacing 'single-glazed windows, draughty doors and measures to tackle damp and mould'. Sinn Féin's Daithí Doolan said his party would continue to propose the maximum cut in the charge. 'Dubliners are unfairly punished by the extremely high price of housing in the capital,' he said.
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Jackson County Executive Frank White vetoes recall election ordinance
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jackson County Executive Frank White, Jr. announced on Thursday that he has vetoed an ordinance allowing residents to recall his election. In a statement from the County Executive's Office, White claims that Ordinance 5993 is a 'clear' violation of state and federal election laws and believes it disregards election authorities' guidance and serves as an unnecessary waste of nearly $2 million in taxpayer money. See the latest headlines in Kansas City and across Kansas, Missouri 'This ordinance is not just unlawful, but it's also fiscally reckless and a dangerous misuse of the democratic process,' said Jackson County Executive Frank White, Jr. 'It forces our local election boards to break the law, waste taxpayer dollars and invites chaos into how recalls are conducted in Jackson County. The people deserve better.' On , Jackson County legislators unanimously decided to have residents vote on whether to recall White's position. A special election was scheduled after legislators received more than 42,900 signatures for the recall. According to county officials, the recall largely comes from residents who have suffered from price hikes in property tax assessments throughout Jackson County. In some areas, taxes tripled, forcing residents out of their homes. However, in a , he claimed that the primary reason for the backlash is that he was on the 'Vote No' side of the April 2024 election, where the Chiefs and the Royals looked to continue receiving sales tax money from shoppers in the county to support their projects. 'This effort is being led and funded by dark money groups and self-interested insiders who were denied a blank check for a bad stadium deal,' part of White's statement read. Now, White has officially vetoed the ordinance, claiming it is unethical and that it discredits the democratic voting process. He claims that the election date is unlawful, the petitions are deficient, it wastes taxpayer dollars, and it sets a dangerous precedent. Download WDAF+ for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV 'It's never too late to do the right thing. The Legislature can move the recall to the November 2025 ballot, which would comply with the law, protect the will of the people and save taxpayers millions,' said White. 'Jackson County residents deserve leaders who stand up for the law and protect taxpayer dollars, not political stunts that cost more and deliver less.' According to , despite White's veto, Democratic Legislative Chairman DaRon McGee seems to have a veto-proof majority on the issue. As a result, he only needs five other legislators to support the ordinance. Additionally, in preparation for Thursday's announcement, the Jackson County legislature had already set a , in case they needed to override White's veto. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Reuters
16-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Brazil's top court backs Lula's tax hike, exempts forfait
BRASILIA, July 16 (Reuters) - Brazil's highest court on Wednesday upheld most of a controversial presidential decree raising the country's Financial Operations Tax (IOF), handing a revenue-boosting win to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government. Judge Alexandre de Moraes ruled that only the proposed tax hike on forfait - advance payments made to suppliers that were previously treated by the government as credit operations - would be cut back. The decree, which includes tax hikes on other financial transactions such as credit, foreign exchange, and private pension transactions, had been suspended by Congress, causing the dispute to go up to the Supreme Court. Brazil's finance ministry issued a statement that welcomed the court's decision, saying it would help restore harmony between branches of government. Blocking the proposed IOF tax hike on forfait payments represents a lost revenue of 450 million reais ($80.9 million) this year and a further 3.5 billion reais in 2026, it added. The ministry had previously estimated that the entire decree would boost state coffers by 12 billion reais this year and 31 billion reais in 2026. ($1 = 5.5678 reais)
