Other news in brief

On 4 August 2022 the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee voted to increase the Bank of England base rate to 1.75 percent from 1.25 percent. As a result, HMRC interest rates for late payment will increase. HMRC’s late payment interest is set at the Bank of England base rate plus 2.5 percent so their late payment interest rate will increase from 3.75 percent to 4.25 percent. These changes will come into effect on 15 August 2022 for quarterly instalment payments and 23 August 2022 for non-quarterly instalment payments. HMRC will also increase their repayment interest rate to 0.75 percent, as it is set at Bank Rate minus one percent, with a 0.5 percent lower limit.

Yael Selfin, Chief Economist at KPMG in the UK commented on the latest Office for National Statistics’ UK labour market figures stating “the labour market could ease further as the economy weakens”.