The UK Finance Minister, Rishi Sunak, announced before Parliament some fiscal measures, including a reduction in social contributions and fuel taxes, to alleviate the effect of rising prices on British consumers.

Sunak indicated that the initial thresholds applied to National Insurance will increase to 12,570 pounds from July, which in practice means a reduction of around 6,000 million pounds of the tax burden on UK workers. It will benefit some 30 million workers with an average saving of about 330 pounds per year.

Likewise, the minister announced the reduction by five pence, from today and during the next twelve months, of the rate applied to fuels, which will mean an impact of some 2,400 million pounds. “Today I can announce that for the second time in 20 years the tax on fuel will be reduced. Not by one, not even by two, but by five pence per litre,” said Sunak, stressing that it is the “biggest cut” in the tax on fuels never announced.

VAT exemption

The minister informed that in response to the increase in energy costs, the 5 % VAT will be abolished for products linked to energy efficiency, including the installation of solar panels. “For the next five years, owners who install materials such as solar panels, heat pumps or insulation will not pay 5 % VAT, they will pay zero.”

In this sense, he has defended that these measures will save around 1,000 pounds in taxes for a family that installs solar panels and more than 300 pounds per year in the annual energy bill.

On the other hand, the head of the British Treasury has presented the latest forecasts of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which has lowered its GDP growth forecast for the United Kingdom to 3.8 % from 6 % for this year as a consequence of the impact of the war in Ukraine and the sanctions against Russia on the evolution of inflation.

Likewise, the OBR forecasts that the GDP of the second largest European economy will grow by 1.8 % in 2023 and 2.1 % in 2024, while for the following year it trusts an expansion of 1.8%, which would remain stable at 1.7 % for the following three years.

Source: dpa

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The internet giant, Google informed its employees of the need to be vaccinated against Covid-19 and those who are not immunized will be able to enjoy a license of up to 7 months to supply the corresponding doses; otherwise they will be fired. This was notified by the organization through an internal statement.

The company explained that the measure will be applied in the United States in order to comply with the Executive Order of the United States Government that requires vaccination against Covid-19 for all employees of federal contractors. But if other governments require similar measures, they may extend it in other countries.

The statement indicated that the employees had to notify the company of the status of their vaccination and send documents that prove it or, failing that, issue some type of medical or religious impediment that allows justifying the reason why the dose was not applied. If the company considers them valid, the worker will be exempt from the vaccine.

Google will ensure the safety of its employees

The organization, through the statement, was decisive with its workers and noted: Employees who are not vaccinated “as of January 18 will receive a paid administrative leave for 30 days. If in that time they do not receive their dose, the company will force them to take another leave of absence for a maximum of six months, this time unpaid. In the cas the employee has not yet been vaccinated during that time they will be fired.”

In addition, they expressed their firm belief in the vaccination requirements as a way to maintain the safety of their workforce and keep its operability, hence their commitment to take all possible actions so that their employees can be vaccinated.

Google had indicated that they would require their workers to be vaccinated by the time they return to their face-to-face work. However, a group of workers wrote, signed and distributed a manifesto expressing their disagreement with this measure.

The company at that time made the measure more flexible, highlighting “that employees who did not want to be vaccinated could explore new roles within the company that did not conflict with the order,” and it also incorporated the exemption for medical or religious reasons.

M. Rodríguez

Source: xataka.com

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