Money blog: 'Stealth tax' on Britons' incomes to stay until 2028 (2024)

Sony Music is reportedly in talks to purchase the entirety of rock band Queen's music catalogue in a deal mooted to be worth some$1bn (around £800bn).

Bloomberg reportsthe company has partnered with another anonymous investor to engage Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon and the estate of Freddie Mercury over a sale that would be the largest of its kind.

Queen Productions Ltd, of which the bandmates and Mercury's estate are equal shareholders, recorded revenues of $52m in the year that ended in September 2022.

This comes after the catalogue of Bruce Springsteen was acquired by Sony in 2021, while rival Warner Music bought David Bowie's songbook for around $250m in 2022, as industry giants battle to invest in songwriting catalogues.

They are seen by many as attractive investments as the music can be used in future films, advertisem*nts and on the radio - which all produce royalties for the rights owners.

A squeeze on people's incomes due to frozen tax thresholds will continue until 2028 under Tory plans, Jeremy Hunt has confirmed.

Rishi Sunak introduced a freeze on tax-free personal allowance thresholds (the amount you can earn before you start paying tax) when he was chancellor back in 2021. In his autumn 2022 budget, Mr Hunt extended the time it would need to be in place from 2026 to 2028.

The frozen rates mean many have failed to feel the benefit of a the national insurance cut which kicked in this year.

The Office for Budget Responsibility also estimates the static rates will drag an additional four million people into paying tax by 2028 and push three million into a higher tax bracket. This is because wages will go up alongside inflation but the threshold won't.

The policy is often referred to as a "stealth tax".

Mr Hunt told BBC Radio 4's Today programme today: "The tax rises that happened as a result of the pandemic and the energy shock, these two giant shocks, will stay for their allotted time period."

But he reiterated the Conservatives' pledge to end the freeze after 2028, saying: "I can absolutely undertake that the threshold freeze that we introduced until 2028 will not continue after that."

The Tories have said they will unfreeze the thresholds for pensioners if they win the election.

Labour has also refused to commit to unfreezing overall tax thresholds.

Sir Keir Starmer said earlier that he believed the tax burden on working people was "too high" but that his party was not going to "make commitments that we cannot afford".

"Therefore I'm very clear about the tax that will remain and will be locked and where we cannot make those commitments," he said.

What are the tax thresholds and what do they mean?

The personal tax allowance is frozen at £12,570. You don't pay income tax on anything you earn below that - anything above is taxed at the 20% base rate. At the same time, the higher rate has been frozen at£50,271 - anything above that is taxed at 40%.

Tom Selby, director of public policy at AJ Bell, said the personal allowance, if it had been inflation-linked since 2021-22, would be forecast to rise to £15,989 by 2028 - nearly £3,500 higher than the frozen threshold.

Tourists headed to Scotland for holidays will face a tourist tax for hotels, bed and breakfasts and holiday lets.

The Scottish Parliament passed the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill two days ago, meaning local authorities can set a charge for overnight accommodation.

According to the bill, the fee will be a percentage of the cost of a hotel or other room.

For instance, a 1% levy on a £200 booking means a visitor would pay £2 in tourist tax.

However, any charges or levies will not come into effect until spring 2026, as councils will first have to consult local businesses before carrying out an 18-month implementation period.

Those receiving disability benefits will not pay any charges, with children and young people also exempt.

Ministers will also have the power to set a cap on the number of nights where a levy would apply.

It will also be up to councils if they want to put a charge in place - but with Holyrood research suggesting 17 of Scotland's 32 councils backing the plans, it is likely some visitors will be hit by charges.

Scotland's employment and investment minister Tom Arthur said on Tuesday the charge would be a " force for good", suggesting it "has the potential to be an important tool enabling investment in the local economy, and supporting an important industry".

However, Scottish Conservatives argued there needed to be a more "robust" exemption scheme, with housing spokesman Miles Briggs saying: "Scots will be pretty unhappy when they realise that they will have to pay a 10% tax to stay in a hotel when their house is flooded."

The new law means Scotland joins Manchester, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole in charging tourists to stay the night.

Manchester's £1-a-night City Visitor Charge was introduced last April, and is estimated to have raised around £2.8m in its first year.

European hotspots like Barcelona and Venice have also introduced tourist taxes, with the Spanish city charging visitors €3.25 if they're staying in official accommodation.

Workers posing as Disney favourites such as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Snow White in California have formed a union - Magic United.

There are roughly 1,700 performers and assistants who help to bring popular characters to life at Disneyland near Los Angeles.

Disney has faced allegations of not paying them a living wage, despite many facing exorbitant housing costs and commuting long distances.

Parade performers and character actors earn a base pay of $24.15 (£19) an hour, up from $20 (£15.75) before January.

Read on here...

Nike is celebrating a partial victory over rival brand Adidas in court, as it has been permitted to put three stripes on some of its clothing designs in Germany.

The decision came during a second appeal hearing between the two sportswear brands at a regional court in Dusseldorf.

The court previously barred Nike from using two or three stripes on five trouser designs due to a lawsuit filed by Adidas in 2022, which is on a mission to protect its trademark three-stripe design.

Following the appeal, Nike can now use the stripes on four disputed trouser designs, while a ban for one is still in place.

Adidas has filed dozens of lawsuits and signed hundreds of settlement agreements related to its three-tripe design since 2008.

The Conservatives and Labour have ruled out VAT hikes if either party wins the election.

Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, said tax rises on products and services would "hammer families' finances", while shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said Labour did not plan to raise tax, national insurance or VAT.

The pledges come after the Institute for Fiscal Studies said the next UK government would face the toughest fiscal inheritance in 70 years.

Ms Reeves said: "I want taxes on working people to be lower, not higher."

New tax rises were restricted to those policies already announced, such as a plan to charge 20% VAT on private school fees, she said.

Writing in The Telegraph, Mr Hunt said: "We won't increase the main rate of VAT for the duration of the next Parliament."

He continued: "A VAT increase will hammer families' finances and push inflation back up."

He urged Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to make a similar commitment "on camera".

Follow all the latest election campaign news live in the Politics Hub...

People who bank with TSB have had trouble getting into the mobile app this morning.

Many took to social media to report difficulty logging in to their accounts.

The official X account of TSB, responding to several complaints about the app being down earlier, said: "We're aware that customers are experiencing issues with our digital services. We're sorry for any inconvenience and are working hard to resolve it."

One customer reported that the app had remained down overnight:

In an updated statement, the bank said the issue has now been resolved.

"We're sorry for any inconvenience it caused," it said.

By Daniel Binns, business reporter

Shares in Auto Trader have rocketed more than 13% to a record high this morning.

It comes after the company reported a bumper set of results for the 2023/24 financial year - including a 26% rise in group operating profits.

The online car marketplace says recent demand has been strong - and it expects its performance to continue.

Dr Martens is also up on the FTSE 250 index - despite revealing it suffered an almost 43% fall in pre-tax profits during the 12 months to March (read more below...)

Its shares climbed more than 9% at one point earlier this morning, but have since eased back to almost 6%.

The British footwear brand has said it is "confident" it can revive its fortunes and says it plans to make savings of up to £25m to turn things around.

Elsewhere, the FTSE 100 is pretty flat - it opened 0.2% down but is currently up by a tiny 0.03%.

Mining firm Anglo American is among the companies hit by falls this morning.

Its shares have dropped by just over 1% after its rival BHP Group walked away from a proposed £38.5bn takeover of the company.

On the currency markets, £1 buys $1.27 US or €1.17 (or €1.1753, to be precise).

It comes after the pound reached a 19-month high against the Euro at one point yesterday - with £1 equalling €1.1784 - before later dropping back down.

The cost of a barrel of benchmark Brent crude has dipped slightly compared to yesterday. The price is $83 (£65).

If you're heading to Spain this summer and might get some of your holiday clothes from Zara, you might be better off waiting until you're over there.

The Spanish company sells items much cheaper over there - whether it's women's, men's or kids' clothes.

You can search prices in English on their Spanish website to get an idea of how much you'd save.

We found big potential savings on just about every item we looked at - and the savings are even bigger than usual, with the pound reaching a two-year high against the euro yesterday.

For example, this white mini dress with ruffled hem is €27.95 in Spain but £32.99 (or €38.74).

A black dress described as "flowing voluminous" is €29.95 over there, but £35.99 (€42.27) in the UK.

These men's "balloon fit" jeans are €35.95 in Spain, but £45.99 (€54.01) in the UK.

A double-breasted blazer suit and trousers is €129.9 in Spain, but in the UK you'd pay £158.99 (€186.72).

Finally, a ruffled gingham kids' jumpsuit is €22.95 compared with £25.99 (€30.52).

Martin Lewis first highlighted these potential savings in 2015 when he wrote: "This isn't just about Zara similar pricing structures apply for other members of the same group, Massimo Dutti, Pull & Bear and Uterqüe."

A Zara spokesperson told the Money blog: "Zara's fashion offer is the same in the over 200 markets where it is available: quality, well-designed products at compelling prices.

"These prices do vary between markets due to a number of factors which include shipping costs and exchange rates."

The supply of homes for sale has reached its highest level in eight years, according to a new report on the state of the housing market.

Zoopla said a 20% annual increase in properties has boosted choice for buyers and could help to steady house price growth over the rest of the year.

This idea is supported by Tom Bill,head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, who said growing supply is"one reason that UK house price growth this year will be limited to low single digits".

According to Zoopla, the average estate agent office has 31 homes for sale - the highest level in eight years and up from a low of 16 in 2022.

The South West has seen "well above average" growth in the number of homes for sale, the property portal said, with a third more homes on the market across the region compared to a year ago.

The increase has likely been fuelled by planning changes in relation to holiday lets and the prospect of double council tax for second homes, Zoopla said.

According to Zoopla, a 13% increase in sales agreed has failed to keep pace with growth in the number of properties on the market.

Growth supply across the UK has been driven by a "rebound" in the number of three and four+ bed homes for sales as mover confidence improves, it said.

On property prices, Zoopla said there are still geographical divides with southern regions seeing "modest" falls, while the strongest price growth is seen in Belfast (3.6%), Burnley (2.5%) and Bolton (2.4%).

This compares to the biggest falls in Ipswich (-3%), Hasting (-2.7%) and Norwich (-2.4%).

The north-south divide is "primarily driven by affordability pressures in the face of higher mortgage rates", according to Zoopla - and it is expected to persist throughout 2024.

Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla said growth in the supply of homes for sale is "evidence of renewed confidence amongst homeowners".

Homeowners who are "serious about moving in 2024" should price their homes "realistically" to achieve a sale, he added.

Mr Bill said the "main obstacle" faced by buyers is "stubborn" inflation, which is keeping mortgage rates high.

"Asking prices therefore need to reflect the fact that buyers have more choice and tighter budgets," he said.