0:00
As if n pound pints in the square mile
0:02
weren't bad enough. Now booze might be
0:05
getting even more expensive as a think
0:07
tank with close ties to the government
0:09
has proposed upping taxes on alcohol.
0:11
The Institute for Public Policy
0:13
Research, a left-leaning think tank, has
0:15
pinned the blame for the UK's
0:17
long-standing productivity wos on work
0:19
related drinking. The IPR said young
0:22
people felt pressured into drinking with
0:24
colleagues to advance their career,
0:26
while staff coming into the office with
0:28
hangovers weren't working as hard as
0:30
their tea total counterparts. The group
0:33
called for action on the cheapest,
0:35
strongest drinks, which caused the most
0:37
harm by introducing a minimum unit price
0:40
to be set on alcohol as well as an
0:42
annual increase on alcohol duty by an
0:44
above inflation rate. The IPR report
0:47
acknowledged that increasing the cost of
0:49
alcohol products could be unpopular with
0:52
the public and a political risk. The
0:54
report found that most employers are
0:56
seen as doing too little to address a
0:59
workplace drinking culture. More than
1:01
half of workers surveyed said their
1:03
employer had not provided any guidance,
1:06
training, or inclusive alternatives to
1:08
events featuring alcohol. The proposal
1:10
is likely to spark fury in the
1:12
hospitality sector, which is still
1:14
reeling from steep cost pressures
1:16
introduced in last year's budget. This
1:18
includes sharp hikes to employer
1:20
national insurance contributions and
1:22
minimum wage rates. More than 300 pubs
1:25
across Britain are expected to shut up
1:27
by the end of the year, a rate of around
1:30
one per day. The proposal is one of a
1:32
number on the menu for Ranchel Reeves as
1:35
the chancellor seeks to raise as much
1:37
as30 billion pounds at next month's
1:39
autumn budget. As much as5 billion
1:41
pounds could also be raised from
1:42
changing the tax treatment of pensions,
1:45
including by setting a uniform 30% rate
1:48
for tax relief on pensions
1:49
contributions. Also, this would involve
1:52
cutting the tax-free lump sum on
1:54
pensions ceiling to 100,000 according to
1:58
an analysis by Oxford Economics. Reeves
2:00
is also expected to extend the freeze on
2:03
income tax allowances and national
2:05
insurance thresholds to the 2029 2030
2:09
tax year. This would drag millions more
2:11
employees into paying higher rates of
2:13
tax and raising an extra 10 billion
2:15
pounds. According to Oxford Economics,
2:18
national insurance rules could also be
2:19
extended to cover limited liability
2:21
partnerships such as law firms and
2:24
investment funds who currently don't pay
2:26
the tax and that would raise around 1
2:28
billion. There's also been talk of
2:30
raising billions from a new tax on
2:32
banks, a proposal which has attracted
2:34
fury from many finance bosses over in
2:36
Canary Warf. As we inch closer to the
2:38
budget in November, we're slowly seeing
2:40
the full buffet of possible tax cuts
2:42
being considered. For everything you
2:44
need to know, head over to cityam.com.
