Jeremy Hunt pledges further national insurance cut in the autumn ‘if we can afford it’

Published

1 year ago

May 17, 2024

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Jeremy Hunt has pledged to cut national insurance again in the autumn “if we can afford” it.

The chancellor has lowered the tax twice since he entered Number 11, which the government says has saved people an average of £900 a year.

But speaking at an event in London on Friday, he said “we’re not stopping there”, adding: “If we can afford to go further to responsibly reduce the double tax on work this autumn, that is what I will do.

“We make no apology for wanting to keep cutting the double tax on work until it’s gone, but only when we could do so without increasing borrowing and without cutting funding for public services or pensions.”

Politics live: Hunt attacks Labour in tax speech

Mr Hunt has said he plans to abolish NI entirely at some point in the future, claiming it is “unfair that we tax work twice” when other forms of income are only subject to one levy.

But Labour has attacked the Conservatives for failing to explain how they would pay for the move – which it estimates will cost £46bn – saying it could “lead to higher borrowing, higher taxes on pensioners or the end of the state pension as we know it”.

Answering questions from reporters after the speech, Mr Hunt condemned Labour’s remarks as “nonsense” and “fake news”, adding: “Our ambition has no time commitment because we’ve been explicit that we will only deliver it when it can be afforded. It will come through growth in the economy and not by increasing borrowing or cutting spending.

“It is frankly disgusting to try to scare pensioners by misrepresenting that policy.”

He instead claimed Labour had £38bn of unfunded spending pledges for the next parliament that could only be covered by raising taxes.

“Taxes will go up under any future Labour government, as sure as night follows day,” the chancellor said.

“But taxes will go down under a Conservative government because we will do the hard work necessary to keep our economy competitive.”

However, he would not guarantee a timescale for such reductions.

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Mr Hunt told Sky News: “If you’re saying can I look into a crystal ball and predict what is going to happen in the world in the next five or 10 years, and therefore give you a cast-iron guarantee of when we will be able to reduce the tax burden and to what level? The answer is, of course I can’t. And it would be irresponsible to do so.

“That is why, by the way, our commitments to abolish the double tax on work – employees’ national insurance – we haven’t put a time limit on it because it will depend on factors that are beyond our control, such as the overall growth in the economy as to when we can afford it.

“But my commitment is that the tax burden will go down under a future Conservative government.”

Mr Hunt also refused to commit to lowering tax thresholds if the Tories stayed in power – something dubbed a “stealth tax” by government critics, as more people move into paying tax as wages increase, but thresholds stay the same.

The speech follows a major Labour event on Thursday where Sir Keir Starmer outlined his “first steps” for government if his party were to win power at the next election – the first of which was offering “economic stability”.

Mr Hunt defended the government’s handling of the economy, despite the fall out of Liz Truss’ disastrous mini Budget, saying it was a “myth” that the UK was performing worse than other similar countries.

“Since 2010, the UK economy has faced not one but three massive external shocks dealing with the consequences of the financial crisis, a once-in-a-century pandemic and a 1970s-style energy shock caused by the invasion of Ukraine,” he said.

“Each time, Conservative governments have done what people elected Conservative governments to do – to take the tough and difficult decisions necessary to put the economy back on its feet.”

The race is set for Downing Street – and there is months of this to come

Rob Powell

Political correspondent

@robpowellnews

For the second day in a row, we have a political event that made the general election feel six weeks away, rather than six months.

Did both Labour and the Tories book venues for a summer campaign before discovering they couldn’t cancel the rooms? We’ll never know.

But what we do have a clearer idea of is the contours of the coming race for Downing Street.

The focus for the chancellor today was tax.
Not that you need to be told that by me, given Jeremy Hunt was stood next to three signs proclaiming “Labour’s Tax rises” – positioned in the spots usually reserved for slogans that set out a party’s own ambitions.

If that wasn’t strange enough, we were then treated to the sight of Mr Hunt admitting he was indeed the bloke who put up taxes by £20bn just two years ago – despite the words inches from his head suggesting it’s the other guys who have been whacking up your bills.

To flesh out this attack line, the chancellor said he was talking about future changes and cited costings of Labour policies showing a spending black hole that could only be filled through tax rises.

Labour called that “desperate” and pinged across a document showing the exact same costings applied to the Tory ambition to abolish national insurance.

What could that lead to? You guessed it. Tax rises. And not just tax rises. Tax rises… for pensioners. That was a suggestion Jeremy Hunt said was “fake news… a lie”.

Talk to economists and they’ll tell you taxes are going to have to go up whoever is in power for the coming years to pay for increasing spending on healthcare, defence and pensions.

The alternative would be for swingeing and likely fanciful cuts in other public services.

So there’s a grain of truth in what both parties are saying, but as ever – it sits in a deeper pool of spin and obfuscation.

I hope you’re not getting bored – there’s months of this to come.

Pointing to falls in inflation – a key pledge of Rishi Sunak – and the news the UK has now exited a technical recession, the chancellor said: “To point out, as the Labour Party do, that living standards have fallen this parliament, without mentioning the pandemic or the energy crisis, is taking everyone for fools.”

He claimed Labour’s economic policies would be “profound and damaging for every family in the country”.

But a Labour spokesperson said his speech was “another desperate attempt by the Tories to deflect from their £46bn unfunded tax plan”, adding: “All of Labour’s policies are fully costed and fully funded. Unlike the Conservatives who crashed the economy, Labour will never play fast and loose with the public finances.”

The Liberal Democrats also had a pop at the chancellor, with their Treasury spokesperson Sarah Olney saying: “Jeremy Hunt owes an apology to the millions of hardworking Brits who will be forced to pay more tax as a result of his swindling budgets.

“The Conservative Party is trying to take the British public for fools with this shameless attempt to erase Liz Truss’ botched budget and their unfair tax hikes.

“Voters across the country and in his marginal Surrey constituency will see right through this. Jeremy Hunt cannot defend his record of soaring mortgages, rocketing food prices and crippling tax rises.”

Politics

Australian court ruling could lead to $640M in Bitcoin tax refunds

Published

4 hours ago

May 19, 2025

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Australian court ruling could lead to 0M in Bitcoin tax refunds

A court decision in Australia could open the door to as much as $640 million in capital gains tax (CGT) refunds on Bitcoin transactions after a judge ruled that crypto should be treated as money rather than a taxable asset.

On May 19, the Australian Financial Review (AFR) reported that the decision arose within a criminal case involving federal police officer William Wheatley, who allegedly stole 81.6 Bitcoin (BTC) in 2019. At the time, the assets were worth roughly $492,000. At current market prices, the tokens are valued at more than $13 million.

In the case, Judge Michael O’Connell of Victoria ruled that Bitcoin qualifies as a form of money rather than property, likening the digital asset to Australian dollars rather than to shares, gold or foreign currency.

The interpretation could set a legal precedent, potentially placing Bitcoin transactions outside the scope of Australia’s current CGT regime.

New court ruling challenges Australian crypto tax laws

In an AFR interview, tax lawyer Adrian Cartland said the verdict “totally upends” the Australian Taxation Office’s (ATO) current position.

Since 2014, the ATO has classified crypto assets as CGT assets. This means that users must pay tax when selling or trading them. Under the ATO’s guidance, any disposal of Bitcoin, including selling it for fiat, exchanging it for another crypto or using it to purchase goods or services, constitutes a CGT event.

This framework has been the basis for taxing cryptocurrency transactions in Australia for over a decade. However, the recent ruling challenges the approach by suggesting that Bitcoin functions more like money than property. This potentially exempts it from CGT.

Tax refunds could reach $640 million

Cartland said it was held that Bitcoin is Australian money. “That is, it is not a CGT asset. Therefore, acquisitions and disposals of Bitcoin have no tax consequences,” the tax lawyer added.

If the ruling is upheld on the appeal, Cartland estimates that there could be potential tax refunds totalling 1 billion Australian dollars ($640 million).

However, while Cartland thinks there could be up to a billion in refunds, the ATO said there were no official figures that confirm the amount to be potentially refunded if the case changes how Bitcoin is taxed in Australia.

Magazine: Binance Wallet ‘killing’ MetaMask and airdrops, Chinese RWA tokens: Asia Express

Politics

Revolut eyes French license and $1.1B expansion amid EU growth

Published

5 hours ago

May 19, 2025

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Revolut eyes French license and .1B expansion amid EU growth

Revolut, a European neobank with crypto support, plans to invest more than 1 billion euro ($1.1 billion) in France and apply for a local banking license.

According to a May 19 Fortune report, Revolut representatives announced the initiative during the Choose France business summit hosted by President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. The London-based neobank also plans to set up its new European Union-serving headquarters in Paris, promising to invest 1 billion euro and hire at least 200 people within three years.

Revolut spokespeople also said that the firm is in the process of submitting an application to the French banking regulator Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority. According to an anonymous source cited by Fortune, the regulator has been pushing the neobank to get a license to improve supervision due to its popularity in France.

Revolut currently employs about 300 people and serves five million customers in France. This makes the nation the neobank’s top European Union market.

Aiming for the stars

Revolut hopes to onboard 10 million users by the end of next year and then double that number by 2030. The firm already offers loans, trading and cryptocurrency support in its mobile-first banking platform.

The neobank has seen rapid growth ever since its founding in 2015. The company recently received a $45 billion valuation and reportedly served over 55 million customers as of late May.

Revolut’s 2024 annual report release shows that the firm’s 2024 revenue was 3.1 billion British pounds ($4 billion). A recent Financial News article also puts the company’s headcount at 10,133 employees as of Dec. 31, 2024.

An increasingly regulated institution

Revolut obtained its UK banking license in late July 2024, where 11 million of its customers are located. Now, the neobank is aggressively looking to obtain similar permits across other jurisdictions, with 10 applications underway.

Revolut received the Prepaid Payment Instruments license from India’s central bank earlier this month. This license allows the bank to offer multi-currency forex cards and cross-border remittance services in India.

EU-based Revolut customers now leverage its Lithuania operations. The firm received a banking license in Lithuania at the end of 2018, enabling it to serve customers across the European Economic Area better.

Magazine: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight

Politics

Dubai regulator sets compliance deadline for updated crypto rules

Published

6 hours ago

May 19, 2025

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Dubai regulator sets compliance deadline for updated crypto rules

Dubai’s crypto regulator has given licensed digital asset companies until June 19 to comply with its updated activity-based Rulebooks to enhance market integrity and risk oversight.

On May 19, Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) announced that it had released Version 2.0 of the Rulebooks.

The regulator said it had strengthened controls around margin trading and token distribution services, harmonised compliance requirements across all licensed activities and given clearer definitions for collateral wallet arrangements.

VARA’s team will engage with licensed entities and expects the companies to comply with the updated rules after a 30-day transition period.

“In line with global regulatory best practices, a 30-day transition period has been granted to all impacted virtual asset service providers [VASPs], with full compliance required by 19 June 2025,” VARA wrote.

VARA enhances supervisory mechanisms

VARA highlighted that it had enhanced supervisory mechanisms across several regulated activities. This includes advisory, broker-dealer, custody, exchange, lending and borrowing, virtual asset (VA) management and investment, and VA transfer and settlement services.

A VARA spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the updates will bring consistency across all activity-based rules defining core operational terms. The spokesperson gave examples of terms like “client assets,” “qualified custodians,” and “collateral requirements” as some of the terms more consistently defined in the update.

The update also aligned risk management and disclosure obligations, where activities overlap, in areas like brokerage, custody and exchange.

“The aim was to reduce ambiguity and help VASPs navigate cross-functional compliance more easily,” VARA told Cointelegraph.

Dubai regulator tightens leverage thresholds for margin trading

As for margin trading, the VARA spokesperson said they tightened leverage thresholds, mandated clearer collateralisation standards, and enhanced the monitoring obligations for VASPs offering this feature.

Margin trading allows traders to control large positions with smaller amounts of capital. It amplifies both gains and losses. Tightening the leverage traders use helps limit the risks of widespread liquidations in a market downturn.

The crypto regulator introduced a new section on token distribution that sets out licensing prerequisites, investor protections and marketing restrictions. The spokesperson emphasized the marketing restrictions, especially for “retail-facing offers.”

“It’s about aligning with global conduct expectations and closing observed regulatory gaps,” the VARA spokesperson said.