Nearly 90,000 serviced office spaces across England and Wales could be exposed to as much as £1.5bn in backdated tax bills, the Telegraph reports. Labour’s changes to how business rates are assessed, which means shared office buildings are classed as separate units rather than a single establishment, could be backdated to April 2023 and valuers are able to backdate their assessments until March 31, 2027. Shayla Cairns, the director of property tax at Ryan, said: “In more exposed parts of the market, particularly in regional and non-prime locations, if demand weakens as a result, the consequences could be significant.” Business rates specialist John Webber said the change amounted to a “tax grab” that will send most operators under.

UK firms experienced a rebound in growth this April, according to the S&P Global flash UK composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI), which rose to 52.0 from 50.3 in March. This growth comes amid rising cost inflation, the highest in over three years, driven by the conflict in the Middle East. Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, noted: “The improved rate of expansion is in part a reflection of a short-term boost from a rush to secure purchases ahead of feared price rises.” Around 69% of firms reported increased purchasing costs.

Consumer confidence has fallen to its lowest level since October 2023, according to the GfK consumer confidence index, which dropped four points to minus 25. This decline marks the third consecutive month of falling confidence and the largest drop since April 2025. Neil Bellamy, consumer insights director at GfK, stated: “Consumers really do have the jitters now.” Rising fuel prices and expectations of further inflation are straining household budgets. Economists have revised down their forecasts for household consumption growth to 0.6% this year, reflecting concerns over weak consumer spending impacting economic growth.

Rishi Sunak, former Tory Prime Minister and now an adviser to AI firm Anthropic and Microsoft, has proposed eliminating National Insurance to encourage hiring amid AI’s impact on jobs. He acknowledged graduates’ concerns about job availability in sectors like law and accountancy. Sunak suggested gradually replacing National Insurance with taxes on corporate profits, which could increase due to AI efficiencies. He also highlighted the UK’s potential as a leader in AI productivity, citing significant investments in the tech sector.

London’s workforce is facing unprecedented challenges, with average working hours reaching a record high of 34 hours per week, according to the Office for National Statistics. Full-time workers average 37.8 hours, while unemployment has surged to 7.4%, the highest in the UK. Women are particularly affected, with their unemployment rate rising to 8%. Luke Taylor, Liberal Democrat London spokesman, argued: “Londoners shouldn’t have to work record hours just to stay afloat.” The ongoing cost-of-living crisis and external factors like inflation and geopolitical tensions are exacerbating the situation.

AI adoption is significantly higher among top earners, with over 60% of high-income workers using AI daily compared to just 16% of lower earners, according to an FT poll of 4,000 workers in the US and UK.

US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a significant tariff on the UK if it does not repeal its digital services tax, which levies 2% on revenues from major US tech firms. Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said: “If they don’t drop the tax, we’ll probably put a big tariff on the UK.” The tax affects companies with global revenues exceeding £500m, with over £25m from UK users. The issue has strained US-UK relations and remains unresolved in the recent UK–US trade deal.

Official figures reveal that UK government borrowing fell to £132bn in the year ending March, £19.8bn lower than the previous year. Increased tax revenues, particularly from income tax and VAT, helped offset rising public spending, including benefits and pay settlements. Tom Davies, ONS senior statistician, said the figures were in line with forecasts. However, challenges remain, with the war expected to impact economic growth. Thomas Pugh, chief economist at RSM UK, warned: “This year’s borrowing could be £30bn higher than pre-war OBR forecasts.” The Treasury borrowed £12.6bn during March, higher than analyst forecasts of £10.4bn. The Mail notes that the tax burden is projected to reach 38.5% of GDP by 2030-31, driven by significant increases under Labour.

A campaign supported by the Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched aiming to transform people’s attitudes towards investing. A survey for the Invest For The Future campaign, backed by several financial services firms, indicated that 44% of people with savings but no investments – which could equate to 10.1m savers across the UK – would be interested to learn more about investing. Chris Cummings, chief executive of the Investment Association and deputy chairman of the retail investing campaign, said: “There is clear demand from millions of savers who want to do more with their money, but do not always feel confident about where to begin.”

According to Sport England’s Active Lives report, 64.6% of adults now meet the Chief Medical Officers’ exercise threshold of 150 minutes per week. This marks a record high, with over 30m adults classified as active, an increase of 3.3m in a decade. Sport England said increased activity was a boost to the economy, increasing productivity and reducing the burden on the NHS.