Budget 2024: Minister refuses to rule out tax rises for people earning more than £100,000
A government minister has refused to rule out raising taxes for higher earners.
Stephen Kinnock dodged the question nine times when Sky News’ Kay Burley asked whether people who earn more than £100,000 a year are “working people”, under Labour’s definition.
Labour’s manifesto pledged not to raise national insurance, VAT or income tax for “working people”.
However, the party has not revealed its exact definition of “working people”, raising concern it is getting ready to hike up taxes for certain groups at the budget on 30 October, including those who earn more than £100,000.
At present, people who earn between £50,271 and £125,140 pay 40% tax on that income and those who earn more than that pay 45%. People who earn more than £100,000 also currently have smaller personal allowances.
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Health Secretary Wes Streeting, talking to Sky News’ Trevor Phillips on Sunday, warned high earners should not expect help at the budget, suggesting it would focus on “people who are on lower or middle incomes”.
Pressed on that today, health minister Mr Kinnock said he would not speculate and added: “The chancellor will set this out on 30 October.”
He insisted the government would “not be breaking any of those manifesto commitments”.
The definition of “working people”, he said, has “to be seen in the round and that’s what’s going to be put on the table on 30 October”.
He added Chancellor Rachel Reeves will make the definition of working people “absolutely clear” during her budget announcement.
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‘We’re not going to fix 14 years in one budget’
Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman, when asked if somebody earning six figures is a working person, also dodged the question and referred back to Mr Kinnock’s comments.
Ms Reeves has been saying for months the budget will be “tough” and it was recently revealed she is aiming to fill a £40bn blackhole – much larger than the £22bn Labour said the Tories left them with.
On Sunday, Mr Streeting refused to rule out freezing tax thresholds, which would see more people dragged into higher tax bands.
The row over Labour’s definition of “working people” has ramped up over the past few weeks as it emerged Ms Reeves is expected to raise national insurance for employers.
Labour claimed this would not be breaking their manifesto as they only promised to not raise taxes for working people.
During the election campaign in June, Sir Keir Starmer said “working people” are those who are working but do not have meaningful savings.
Ms Reeves said they are “people who go out to work”, leaving voters none the wiser.
Read more:
Could Reeves change Labour’s fiscal rules to raise money?
What could be in the budget?
Which tax rises could Labour introduce?
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What will the budget include?
She is expected to increase capital gains tax, paid on the sale of shares and other assets, to 33% or above, but not as high as 39%.
The current rate for higher earners ranges from 20% to 28% depending on the type of asset.
An increase will be seen as a wealth tax as only about 350,000 people a year pay capital gains, but they contribute £15bn in tax receipts, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
Ms Reeves is also expected to cut some reliefs in the inheritance tax system and could keep council tax increases at 5% a year.
Motoring organisations have raised concerns Labour will increase fuel duty for the first time in 14 years by not continuing the 5p cut.
Argentine lawyer Gregorio Dalbon has reportedly asked for a global arrest warrant to be issued for Hayden Davis, the co-creator of the LIBRA token that caused a political scandal in the country.
Dalbon submitted a request to prosecutor Eduardo Taiano and judge María Servini, who are probing President Javier Milei’s involvement in the memecoin, seeking for an Interpol Red Notice to be issued for Davis, local outlets Página 12 and Perfil reported on March 11.
Dalbon said in the filing that there was a “procedural risk” if Davis remained free as he could have access to vast amounts of money that would allow him to either flee the US or go into hiding.
“His central role in the creation and promotion of the $LIBRA cryptocurrency, coupled with the international impact of the case, increases the likelihood that he will take steps to evade justice,” the document reportedly stated.
Dalbon, who represented former Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in her corruption case, asked for Davis’ arrest and for “an Interpol red notice [to] be issued in order to locate and arrest him, with a view to his extradition.”
Interpol is the biggest international police organization and can issue Red Notices that request law enforcement agencies around the world to locate and provisionally arrest someone.
LIBRA is a token that Milei shared across his social media accounts just minutes after its creation on Feb. 14, which catapulted it to a peak value of over $4 billion. The token’s creators held most of the supply and quickly sold their holdings, which caused the token’s price to crash, with many claiming the token was a pump-and-dump scheme.
Hayden Davis (left) poses with Argentine President Javier Milei. Source: Javier Milei
Days later, various lawyers reportedly filed fraud charges against Milei in an Argentine criminal court for promoting the token, while other lawyers reported the president for financial crimes to local authorities and to the US Justice Department.
Related: Memecoins are likely dead for now, but they’ll be back: CoinGecko
Milei has claimed he didn’t “promote” the LIBRA token and insisted he just “spread the word” about it.
In a lengthy interview days after LIBRA’s collapse with YouTuber Stephen Findeisen, better known as “Coffeezilla,” Davis defended the token as a failure rather than a scam.
Davis and his firm, Kelsier Ventures, were the biggest winners from the LIBRA token launch. He claimed to Findeisen that he netted around $100 million but said he didn’t own the tokens and wouldn’t be selling them.
It was later reported that he sent a text message bragging about being able to pay Milei’s sister, Karina Milei, to have the president share the memecoin’s details on X. Davis later said he had no record of this on his phone and denied making payments to the Mileis.
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Blockchain payment provider Ripple received full regulatory approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) to offer cross-border crypto payment services in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The company announced on March 13 that it had secured its DFSA license, allowing it to operate in the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC), a UAE free-economic zone with its own tax policies and regulatory framework.
The announcement came almost six months after the company announced its receipt of an in-principle approval of the DFSA license. On Oct. 1, 2024, Ripple revealed that it was working to become licensed by the DFSA as it aimed to roll out its digital asset infrastructure in the UAE.
Enabling blockchain-based global payments for UAE businesses
With this license, Ripple can now provide its global blockchain-based payment solutions to businesses across the UAE. The company said this allows it to cater to financial institutions looking for partners to help them use digital assets in real-world applications.
In a news release sent to Cointelegraph, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the UAE is “well-placed” to benefit from tech and crypto innovation, thanks to its early leadership and supportive environment:
“We are entering an unprecedented period of growth for the crypto industry, driven by greater regulatory clarity around the world and increasing institutional adoption.”
Ripple also reported that it had seen increased demand across the Middle East for cross-border payments. The company said the demand was not limited to crypto-native firms but also came from traditional financial institutions.
Related: UAE to introduce legal framework for DAOs
Ripple becomes the first crypto payment provider in the DIFC
With DFSA approval, Ripple has become the first blockchain-enabled payments provider to operate within DIFC’s free zone, according to DIFC CEO Arif Amiri.
”We are thrilled that Ripple is deepening their commitment to Dubai by securing a DFSA license that makes them the first blockchain-enabled payments provider in DIFC,” he said.
The license allows Ripple to tap into opportunities in the UAE and the broader MENA region, he added.
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The governor of Nebraska, Jim Pillen, has signed legislation to protect against cryptocurrency fraud as crypto ATM crime skyrockets in the United States.
“Cryptocurrency is an important, emerging industry, and we’ve been working hard to build Nebraska into a cryptocurrency leader,” said Governor Pillen on March 12 following the signing of the bill.
“An important part of these efforts is to make sure that we have guardrails to prevent criminals from taking advantage of Nebraskans,” he added.
The bipartisan legislation establishes the “Controllable Electronic Record Fraud Prevention Act,” which is designed to help combat fraud and protect users of crypto kiosks and ATMs.
Source: Jim Pillen
According to the Federal Trade Commission, victims have lost over $65 million to crypto ATM fraud in the first half of 2024. “Fraud losses at BTMs (Bitcoin ATMs) are skyrocketing, increasing nearly tenfold from 2020 to 2023,” the commission reported in September.
The bill, LB 609, was introduced on Jan. 22 by Senator Eliot Bostar. It stipulates that crypto ATM and kiosk operators must be licensed under Nebraska’s Money Transmitters Act and registered and approved by the Department of Banking and Finance. Operators must provide quarterly reports on kiosk locations, names and transaction data.
It also implements transaction limits of $2,000 per day for new users and $5,000 per day for existing customers, and fees cannot exceed 18% of the transaction value.
New customers who report fraud within 90 days can receive a full refund including fees, while existing customers can be refunded for the fees associated with fraudulent transactions.
Kiosk operators must also display fraud warnings and appoint a compliance officer to enforce fraud prevention measures, it states.
The US crypto ATM network shrunk by more than 1,200 machines earlier this month after Illinois Senator Dick Durbin introduced similar legislation.
Related: Nebraska bill seeks fair play for crypto mining, ownership
“Nebraska is open for business in the cryptocurrency space,” commented state Department of Banking director Kelly Lammers, who added, “those that target our citizens … using crypto ATMs as part of their transfer method, we will soon have a team that will be watching even more closely.”
While being supportive of crypto, Nebraska has yet to join the 21 US states that have proposed legislation to establish strategic crypto reserves, according to the Bitcoin Reserve Monitor.
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