Business

Sunak to cut tax on banks to keep City competitive, say reports

Sunak to cut tax on banks to keep City competitive, say reports

Rishi Sunak is preparing to announce a tax cut for Britain’s biggest banks at next week’s budget to maintain the competitiveness of the City of London after Brexit, according to reports, despite plans to raise taxes on workers.

Ahead of the setpiece budget and spending review next week, the Financial Times said the chancellor planned to slash the corporation tax surcharge imposed on the banking industry by more than 60%, taking the levy from its current level of 8% to just 3% from April 2023.

The development comes after Sunak had warned the Conservative party conference this month that the time for tax cuts would need to wait until the public finances were back on a sustainable footing, amid record levels of government borrowing incurred during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since the start of 2021, the chancellor has announced plans to raise taxes by £36bn a year – a bigger rise than at any budget since the mid-1970s – including plans to raise national insurance taxes on workers and businesses.

It also comes after the government slashed universal credit benefits from early October by more than £1,000 a year in the biggest overnight cut for social security benefits, in a development poverty campaigners warn would push more households into distress amid an unfolding cost of living crisis this autumn.

The chancellor announced a review of the banking industry surcharge at the spring budget, saying a planned increase in the main rate of corporation tax could put London at a disadvantage to other big financial centres such as New York and Hong Kong.

Corporation tax is set to rise from 19% to 25% from April 2023, which the Treasury said at the March budget “would make UK taxation of banks uncompetitive and damage one of the UK’s key exports”.

It comes amid concerns over the impact of Brexit on the City of London as large amounts of financial business continue to steadily drift to European financial centres, as well as to Asia and the US. Earlier this year, it emerged Amsterdam had overtaken London as Europe’s top share trading hub, raising questions over the future of the City and its contribution to the wider UK economy and the British exchequer.

The chancellor’s critics leapt on Sunak’s comments to the Tory party conference earlier this month, amid anticipation for a tough tax and spending settlement elsewhere at next week’s budget.

John McDonnell, the former shadow chancellor, said: “Sunak talked about morality in his conference speech, where’s the morality in cutting universal credit forcing more children into poverty whilst reducing the taxes on wealthy banks? Appalling judgment.”

Despite improvements over the past year as the economy recovers from Covid, the government is still on track to borrow £180bn in the current financial year, or about 7.7% of national income. Since the second world war, such a level has only been reached during the financial crisis and last year.

The banking surcharge was introduced by George Osborne in 2015 with the aim of ensuring a fair contribution from the banking industry after the then chancellor scaled back a separate levy on lenders’ balance sheets, and cut corporation tax for other firms to among the lowest levels in the western world. The levy raised £1.5bn in 2019.

Against the backdrop of heavy lobbying from the sector, Sunak dropped a heavy hint in his Mansion House speech in July that a fresh settlement was likely, saying that his ongoing conversations with banks had “only reinforced my view that the combined tax rate on UK banking profits should not increase significantly from its current level”.

A Treasury spokesperson said: “We do not comment on fiscal policy outside of budget.”

Business

MTN under attack as hackers breach network

MTN Nigeria on Friday, April 25, confirmed that it was recently targeted in a cyber attack but has moved to calm concerns, assuring customers, partners, and stakeholders that its key systems and customer data were not compromised.

The telecoms giant in a statement released on Thursday, April 24, revealed that it had detected unauthorized activity within its network, and had acted swiftly to isolate and neutralize the threat.

The Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola disclosed that the attackers had sough to disrupt operation, but their attempts were unsuccessful.

He emphasized that the incident did not affect Nigeria specifically, and critical infrastructure, including customer information and core business functions, remained secure.

“We take cybersecurity very seriously and have robust systems in place to detect, isolate, and neutralize threats. Although this attack attempted to breach our defenses, our security protocols worked as intended, and our core infrastructure remains secure,” Toriola stated.

The telecom giants did not however reveal the nature or origin of the cyberattack on its systems, cybersecurity analysts warn that telecom companies across Africa are becoming prime targets for cybercriminals. This growing threat is linked to the sector’s vast subscriber base and the continent’s rapidly expanding digital economy.

An internal source within MTN confirmed that the breach did not affect operations in Nigeria, reinforcing the company’s earlier statement that local infrastructure and services remain intact.

The attack comes at a time when Nigeria is accelerating its digital transformation agenda, an ambitious effort that places increased responsibility on service providers to strengthen their cybersecurity protocols.

MTN has pledged to work closely with cybersecurity experts and government authorities to conduct a thorough investigation of the incident. The company also affirmed its commitment to bolstering its systems and defenses to prevent future breaches and safeguard customer trust.

Business

Air Peace to resume flight operations nationwide

Lagos to Abuja now costs N100,000 as operators list challenges

Air Peace has said that it will resume flight operations on Friday following suspension of strike by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET) workers.

The airline’s Head of Corporate Communications, Dr Ejike Ndiulo, made the disclosure in a statement on Thursday night in Lagos.

According to Ndiulo, Air Peace is grateful to its customers and the general public for patience, understanding and support throughout the period of the strike.

”Your resilience and trust in our brand mean the world to us

“We commend the active and decisive intervention of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo (SAN), whose leadership and commitment were pivotal in resolving the impasse and restoring normalcy within the aviation industry,” Ndiulo said.

He noted the minister’s swift engagement with aviation stakeholders, his transparent approach and his dedication to the stability and progress of the aviation sector.

According to him, Keyamo’s efforts not only facilitated timely resolution of the industrial dispute but also underscored his broader vision for a safer, more efficient and investor-friendly Nigerian aviation industry.

Ndiulo reaffirmed Air Peace’s commitment to providing safe, reliable and world-class services.

NAN reports that NIMET workers on Thursday shelved the strike which began on April 22 following Keyamo’s intervention.

The workers downed tools in protest of alleged poor working conditions, including non-implementation of the 2019 Consequential Adjustment to the National Minimum Wage (affecting at least 30 staff).

They are also demanding a 25/35 per cent salary increase, 40 per cent hardship/peculiar allowance, and annual staff trainings.

Keyamo had promised to find lasting solutions to the problems.

Business

BREAKING: Air Peace suspends flight operations nationwide

Air Peace Ltd. has announced the suspension of all flight operations nationwide due to the ongoing strike embarked upon by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET).

This is contained in a statement signed by the Head of Corporate Communications, Air Peace, Dr Ejike Ndiulo, on Wednesday in Lagos.

According to Ndiulo, the decision is necessary because NiMet is the agency responsible for issuing CNH (Current Nowcast of Hazardous Weather) reports, critical for safe landings, especially during this season of heavy rainfall and thunderstorms.

He said without these reports from the control tower, flight safety could not be guaranteed.

“As a safety-first airline, we have chosen to act responsibly by suspending operations until NiMet resumes full service.

“We understand this may cause inconvenience, and we sincerely apologise. Passengers will be contacted with updates and options for rescheduling,” he said.

The staff of NiMET on Tuesday commenced an indefinite strike over the condition of service and other demands.