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Labour has appointed an expert panel to help it “modernise” His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) if it wins the next election, with the shadow chancellor pledging to stop people being “left hanging on the phone”.

Speaking to Sky News, Rachel Reeves said the panel would advise her on how to improve tax compliance and “bring in this additional money” to the government’s coffers, as well as updating the technology behind the service.

And she said the group would make recommendations on “how we can modernise the HMRC and make it a better experience for people phoning up… who are often left hanging on the phone because there’s no one answering the calls”.

The announcement comes just weeks after a U-turn from HMRC over its plans to shut its helplines for half of the year, following an outcry from the public and politicians.

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It also comes as Labour revealed how it would fill the gaps in its spending plans after the Conservatives stole two of their revenue-raising policies – the scrapping of the non-dom tax status and an extension of the windfall tax on oil and gas firms – to pay for a cut in national insurance.

Ms Reeves said the party would raise £5bn by the end of the next parliament to fund breakfast clubs for primary school children and additional appointments in the NHS by clamping down on tax avoidance and closing “loopholes” in the government’s own non-dom pledges.

Put to her that £5bn was a small fraction of public spending overall, the shadow chancellor insisted it was not “a drop in the ocean”, telling Sky News’ Tamara Cohen: “I think that will make a big difference to the lives of hundreds of thousands of people across our country and that is the difference that a Labour government will bring.”

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She added: “[The] Conservative government is still not willing to properly clampdown on tax avoidance or to ensure that our non-doms are paying their fair share.

“It’s [a] Labour government that is willing to make those tough decisions and put that money where it’s needed into our frontline public services.”

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Ms Reeves warned there would be “constraints in what an incoming Labour government would do”, blaming the Tories for playing “fast and loose with the public finances”.

But she insisted everything in the party’s manifesto would be “fully costed and fully funded”, adding: “People can have the certainty and the security of an economy well-run, after the chaos they’ve seen these last few years.”

Asked if any tax cuts would be on the cards with her in the Treasury, Ms Reeves said: “I want the tax burden on ordinary working people to be lower, but I won’t make any promises that I can’t say how I will keep.”

But she did reiterate Labour’s commitment to the triple lock on pensions, and hinted an emergency budget could come quickly if her party gets the keys to Number 10 and 11.

Ms Reeves confirmed her first budget would include measures to close non-dom loopholes and the windfall tax extension, and Sky News understands it will also include its policy of imposing VAT on private school fees.

“Of course… we will have to bring forward a budget,” she said. “There will also be a need for a spending review.

“But we’ll take one thing at a time. We need to win the election and then we will be able to put into practice the policies.”

Ms Reeves was also asked about the ongoing row around Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner and her living arrangements before she became an MP.

Ms Rayner is facing accusations she avoided capital gains tax after selling her property in Stockport in 2015, and falsely registering to vote there while living at her then husband’s house nearby – claims she has denied.

Angela Rayner, current deputy Labour leader, will play a key role in any potential Labour government. Pic: PA
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Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner. Pic: PA

Asked if she had seen the tax advice given to Ms Rayner, the shadow chancellor said: “ No, because I haven’t seen the tax returns or the tax or legal advice of any of my colleagues, and I wouldn’t treat Angela Rayner different to other colleagues.

“But she has taken that advice as she is confident, and I have every faith and trust in my friend and colleague Angela Rayner.”

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Thailand’s 5-year crypto tax break: What they’re not telling you

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Thailand’s 5-year crypto tax break: What they’re not telling you

Thailand’s 5-year crypto tax break: What they’re not telling you

Thailand’s five-year tax break on crypto capital gains looks like a dream for investors, but the fine print reveals a strategic push for surveillance, platform control and regulatory dominance.

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TON’s UAE ‘golden visa’ mishap shows why legal reviews matter

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TON’s UAE ‘golden visa’ mishap shows why legal reviews matter

TON’s UAE ‘golden visa’ mishap shows why legal reviews matter

The TON Foundation could have avoided its golden visa controversy in the UAE with a brief legal review, a local lawyer told Cointelegraph.

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Norman Tebbit: Former Tory minister who served in Margaret Thatcher’s government dies aged 94

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Norman Tebbit: Former Tory minister who served in Margaret Thatcher's government dies aged 94

Norman Tebbit, the former Tory minister who served in Margaret Thatcher’s government, has died at the age of 94.

Lord Tebbit died “peacefully at home” late on Monday night, his son William confirmed.

One of Mrs Thatcher’s most loyal cabinet ministers, he was a leading political voice throughout the turbulent 1980s.

He held the posts of employment secretary, trade secretary, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Conservative party chairman before resigning as an MP in 1992 after his wife was left disabled by the Provisional IRA’s bombing of the Grand Hotel in Brighton.

He considered standing for the Conservative leadership after Mrs Thatcher’s resignation in 1990, but was committed to taking care of his wife.

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and party chairman Norman Tebbit.
Pic: PA
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Margaret Thatcher and Norman Tebbit in 1987 after her election victory. Pic: PA

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch called him an “icon” in British politics and was “one of the leading exponents of the philosophy we now know as Thatcherism”.

“But to many of us it was the stoicism and courage he showed in the face of terrorism, which inspired us as he rebuilt his political career after suffering terrible injuries in the Brighton bomb, and cared selflessly for his wife Margaret, who was gravely disabled in the bombing,” she wrote on X.

“He never buckled under pressure and he never compromised. Our nation has lost one of its very best today and I speak for all the Conservative family and beyond in recognising Lord Tebbit’s enormous intellect and profound sense of duty to his country.

“May he rest in peace.”

Lord Tebbit and his wife Margaret stand outside the Grand Hotel in Brighton.
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Lord Tebbit and his wife Margaret stand outside the Grand Hotel in Brighton. Pic: PA

Tory grandee David Davis told Sky News Lord Tebbit was a “great working class Tory, always ready to challenge establishment conventional wisdom for the bogus nonsense it often was”.

“He was one of Thatcher’s bravest and strongest lieutenants, and a great friend,” Sir David said.

“He had to deal with the agony that the IRA visited on him and his wife, and he did so with characteristic unflinching courage. He was a great man.”

Reform leader Nigel Farage said Lord Tebbit “gave me a lot of help in my early days as an MEP”.

He was “a great man. RIP,” he added.

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher with Employment Secretary Norman Tebbit.
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Lord Tebbit as employment secretary in 1983 with Mrs Thatcher. Pic: PA

Born to working-class parents in north London, he was made a life peer in 1992, where he sat until he retired in 2022.

Lord Tebbit was trade secretary when he was injured in the Provisional IRA’s bombing in Brighton during the Conservative Party conference in 1984.

Five people died in the attack and Lord Tebbit’s wife, Margaret, was left paralysed from the neck down. She died in 2020 at the age of 86.

Before entering politics, his first job, aged 16, was at the Financial Times where he had his first experience of trade unions and vowed to “break the power of the closed shop”.

He then trained as a pilot with the RAF – at one point narrowly escaping from the burning cockpit of a Meteor 8 jet – before becoming the MP for Epping in 1970 then for Chingford in 1974.

Norman Tebbit during the debate on the second reading of the European Communities (Amendment) Bill, in the House of Lords.
Pic: PA
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Lord Tebbit during an EU debate in the House of Lords in 1997. Pic: PA

As a cabinet minister, he was responsible for legislation that weakened the powers of the trade unions and the closed shop, making him the political embodiment of the Thatcherite ideology that was in full swing.

His tough approach was put to the test when riots erupted in Brixton, south London, against the backdrop of high rates of unemployment and mistrust between the black community and the police.

He was frequently misquoted as having told the unemployed to “get on your bike”, and was often referred to as “Onyerbike” for some time afterwards.

What he actually said was he grew up in the ’30s with an unemployed father who did not riot, “he got on his bike and looked for work, and he kept looking till he found it”.

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