Autumn Statement 2023: Jeremy Hunt admits it will ‘take time’ to bring taxes down

Published

1 year ago

November 22, 2023

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Jeremy Hunt has acknowledged it will “take time” to bring taxes down, but he had “made a start” with his autumn statement.

The chancellor admitted the tax take – the total the government collects – stood at £45bn, outstripping the benefits of the cuts announced in the fiscal event.

The headline-grabbing announcement in Mr Hunt’s statement was that the main 12% national insurance rate would fall to 10% from 6 January – saving those on an average salary of £35,000 more than £450 a year.

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The chancellor also abolished Class 2 national insurance payments for the self-employed to show the government “values their work”.

Mr Hunt sought to portray the autumn statement as a tax giveaway in light of the NI cuts – worth £9bn – but economists have pointed out that the overall tax burden remains at a record high because of the continued freeze on tax thresholds.

In an interview with Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby, the chancellor conceded that “taxes go up from freezing thresholds”.

He said: “If you’re trying to say that it’s going to take time to get taxes down to the level they were, then I agree.

“But what I said was when it was responsible to do so, when it wouldn’t affect inflation, I would make a start.

“We’ve done that today and we are a party that believes if we want to grow the economy, then we need to have a lightly taxed economy, and we’ve made a step which, by the way, for someone on average earnings is going to be about £450 – so it’s not insignificant.”

Mr Hunt was asked whether he could call the statement a tax giveaway given that the £45bn tax take “dwarfed” the effects of the national insurance cuts.

“Have you taxed more, or cut taxes more?”

“We have put taxes up because it was the right thing to do to support families,” Mr Hunt replied.

Pressed again on whether taxes have been going up or down under the government, the chancellor said: “Taxes have gone up and we are starting to bring them down.”

Mr Hunt also denied that taxes had gone up in part to “clear up the mess” of the previous government under Liz Truss, pointing instead to the “once-in-a-century pandemic” and “energy shock” caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility, released after the statement, showed taxes are still trending upwards – with a post-war high of 37.7% set to be reached by 2028/29 under the current government plans.

The body put this down to so-called “fiscal drag” – with people drawn into higher tax brackets as their pay increases.

According to the OBR, by 2028/29, frozen thresholds will result in nearly four million additional workers paying income tax – with three million more moved to the higher rate and 400,000 more paying the additional rate.

Mr Hunt was rumoured to have considered income tax cuts in the autumn statement, but it is thought he may defer this to the March budget next year.

Asked whether he would use that opportunity to cut income tax, he replied: “If it’s responsible to do so, if we can do so without increasing borrowing, then of course, as a Conservative, I would like to bring down the tax burden – but I will only do so in a responsible way and one that doesn’t fuel inflation after the great success we’ve had in halving it.”

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Environment secretary defends green policies – after Sir Tony Blair says net zero is ‘doomed to fail’

Published

3 hours ago

April 30, 2025

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Environment secretary defends green policies - after Sir Tony Blair says net zero is 'doomed to fail'

The environment secretary has defended the government’s net zero agenda after Sir Tony Blair said phasing out fossil fuels was “doomed to fail”.

The former prime minister said the approach to transitioning to a green economy wasn’t “working” and was “inadequate” in a report published yesterday by the Tony Blair Institute.

But speaking to Sky News’ Wilfred Frost on Breakfast, Steve Reed said the government was “moving away from sticking plaster solutions towards doing what’s right for the future of the economy, and for the future of households”.

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He said transitioning to a green economy was necessary for the UK to take back “control of our own energy supply” especially in light of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

In his foreword to the report, Sir Tony called the whole strategy of transitioning to a green economy “unrealistic”.

“Present policy solutions are inadequate and, worse, are distorting the debate into a quest for a climate platform that is unrealistic and therefore unworkable,” he wrote.

“Too often, political leaders fear saying what many know to be true: the current approach isn’t working.”

Asked whether he believed Sir Tony was right to say the focus shouldn’t be on using less fossil fuels but on using methods such as carbon capture, Mr Reed conceded that “we’ll still be using fossil fuels… for some time to come”.

He added: “For many decades to come. The transition is so, so transition isn’t gonna happen overnight.”

Shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins told Sky News that Sir Tony’s message should prompt a “rethink” in government.

“If even Tony Blair doesn’t agree with the Labour government, then that is quite a clear message. I would imagine to them that they have got to rethink this.”

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SEC drops investigation into PayPal’s stablecoin

Published

9 hours ago

April 30, 2025

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SEC drops investigation into PayPal’s stablecoin

PayPal says the US Securities and Exchange Commission has abandoned its investigation into the payment giant’s US-dollar stablecoin.

PayPal said in an April 29 regulatory filing that the SEC concluded its investigation into PayPal USD (PYUSD) and wouldn’t be taking any action.

The company said it received a subpoena from the SEC’s Division of Enforcement over its stablecoin in November 2023.

“The subpoena requests the production of documents. We are cooperating with the SEC in connection with this request,” PayPal stated at the time.

In its latest filing, the firm said the SEC notified it in February that the agency “was closing this inquiry without enforcement action.”

PayPal has said its stablecoin is 100% redeemable for US dollars and “fully backed” by dollar deposits, including short-term treasuries and cash equivalents.

However, the stablecoin has struggled to gain momentum in a crowded market dominated by rivals Tether and Circle. PYUSD has a market capitalization of just $880 million, less than 1% of Tether’s (USDT) $148.5 billion.

PayPal’s stablecoin has seen better growth this year with a 75% increase in PYUSD circulating supply since the beginning of 2025, according to CoinGecko. It remains down 14% from its peak supply of just over $1 billion in August 2024.

Earnings on PYUSD, Coinbase partnership

That growth could be bolstered by a company announcement on April 23 introducing rewards for PYUSD in a new loyalty offering that will enable US users to earn 3.7% annually for holding the asset on the platform.

Meanwhile, on April 24, PayPal announced a partnership with Coinbase to increase the adoption of PYUSD.

“We are excited to drive new, exciting, and innovative use cases together with Coinbase and the entire cryptocurrency community, putting PYUSD at the center,” said Alex Chriss, PayPal President and CEO.

The payments giant also reported robust first-quarter earnings and the completion of significant share repurchase activities.

The firm beat Wall Street estimates, earning $1.33 per share in the first quarter, topping analyst expectations of $1.16. Revenue rose 1% from a year before to $7.8 billion.

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BlackRock files to create digital shares tracking one of its money market funds

Published

10 hours ago

April 30, 2025

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BlackRock files to create digital shares tracking one of its money market funds

Asset manager BlackRock has filed to create digital ledger technology shares from one of the firm’s money market funds, which will leverage blockchain technology to maintain a mirror record of share ownership for investors.

The DLT shares will track BlackRock’s BLF Treasury Trust Fund (TTTXX), which may only be purchased from BlackRock Advisors and The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY), the firm said in its April 29 Form N-1A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The money market fund holds over $150 million worth of assets, invested almost entirely in US Treasury bills and cash.

BlackRock said that the shares “are expected to be purchased and held through BNY, which intends to use blockchain technology to maintain a mirror record of share ownership for its customers.”

Unlike the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), DLT shares won’t be tokenized but will instead be used as a transparency tool to verify ownership.

BlackRock will continue to maintain traditional book-entry records as the official ownership ledger.

BlackRock didn’t propose a ticker or set a management fee for the DLT shares in its filing.

A minimum initial investment of $3 million worth of DLT is required for institutions seeking to purchase the digital shares.

BlackRock follows Fidelity’s March 21 filing to list an Ethereum-based OnChain share class, which seeks to track the Fidelity Treasury Digital Fund (FYHXX) — an $80 million fund consisting almost entirely of US Treasury bills.

While the OnChain share class filing is pending regulatory approval, Fidelity expects it to take effect on May 30.

Wall Street heavyweights continue to explore blockchain use cases

Asset managers have increasingly turned to blockchain to tokenize Treasury bills, bonds and private credit over the past few years.

The treasury tokenization market is currently valued at $6.16 billion, led by BlackRock’s BUIDL at $2.55 billion, while the Franklin Templeton-issued Franklin OnChain US Government Money Fund (BENJI) secures over $700 million worth of real-world assets, according to rwa.xyz.

Ethereum remains the chain of choice for tokenizing treasury assets, and currently houses over $4.55 billion worth, while the Stellar network and Solana round out the top three at $474.9 million and $274.5 million, respectively.

The potential of RWA tokenization has also been championed by BlackRock’s CEO, Larry Fink, who believes the technology could revolutionize investing.

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