We just wrapped up a three-day virtual event that included discussions and interviews with some of the most notable people in technology, media, government and venture capital.
Even in person, there’s no way to absorb Disrupt in its entirety.
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Normally, I would use this space to spotlight an article we published in the last few days, but our content management system runneth over. Many reporters filed stories recapping the interviews and panels they conducted at Disrupt, and there will be more to come in the next few days.
As you review the summaries below, please note that there’s a video at the bottom of every Disrupt story that includes the panel and interview.
Thanks very much for reading, and congratulations to the entire TechCrunch team for a job very well done!
Duolingo doesn’t want to disrupt the college degree
Image Credits: Bryce Durbin
Duolingo CEO and co-founder Luis von Ahn has appeared at TechCrunch Disrupt before, but this year was his first time representing a public company.
A few months ago, reporter Natasha Mascarenhas described Duolingo’s debut as the “bellwether edtech IPO of the year,” so she was well-equipped with questions about the company’s plans for boosting revenue. For example, is premium content in the cards?
“If we wanted to make more money in the short-term, we could probably start paywalling things, but I think that would stifle our growth,” von Ahn says.
“If we start charging for some aspects of language learning, eventually we’re just gonna charge for everything.”
Here’s a recap, along with a video that captures the entire interview.
The whole package: How plastics and sustainability startups achieve success
Image Credits: Cavan Images / Getty Images
The amount of plastic pouring into our oceans is set to triple by 2040, and most un-recycled plastic in the world is generated by consumer packaged goods.
As people look to minimize the waste they produce, startups are coming up with novel solutions to help people and companies meet sustainability goals.
Editor-at-Large Mike Butcher spoke with:
Svanika Balasubramanian, co-founder and CEO, rePurpose Global
SEC Regional Director Erin Schneider talks SPACs, Coinbase and what startups could do better
Image Credits: TechCrunch
Connie Loizos asked Erin Schneider, regional director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s San Francisco office, about crypto lending and the potential for new regulations covering SPAC companies and NFTs, but Schneider was clear from the outset that she was limited in what she could say.
“She did, however, share insight into her personal thinking about a range of these issues, which, given her position, seems very much worth knowing,” writes Connie.
Can the path to equitable healthcare avoid insurers?
Image Credits: Tetra Images / Getty Images
The U.S. healthcare system is a contentious topic, an uncomfortable truth that became evident when Darrell Etherington moderated a conversation with Cityblock Health president and co-founder Toyin Ajayi, Forward CEO and founder Adrian Aoun, and Carbon Health‘s Eren Bali.
“We keep saying that these companies are kind of consumer-centric,” Aoun says.
“But in many ways I think one of the things that you realize is that when you get in bed with the insurance companies, which, whether it’s a Carbon or a Cityblock, at the end of the day, [if] you get in bed with the insurance companies, unfortunately, your incentive is basically not to go build a good consumer product.”
Said Darrell: “Let’s just say this conversation got heated — fast.”
Peter Beck says Rocket Lab actively prepared for interplanetary missions ‘from day one’
Image Credits: Sam Toms and Simon Moffatt
Rocket Lab founder Peter Beck told Senior Editor Devin Coldewey that his own ambition to explore and learn from space goes back to his youth.
“I always felt that, if I could have the opportunity to go out into those stars and explore and perhaps ask or answer, one of the biggest questions in mankind’s history — ‘Are we the only life in the universe or not?’ — I would take that chance,” Beck says.
AI luminary Kai-Fu Lee and sci-fi author Chen Qiufan predict the future in ‘AI 2041’
Image Credits: Jeremy Thomas / Unsplash
Where will today’s technologies lead us over the next 20 years, and what will an AI-infused world look like across the globe?
Sinovation founder and AI thought leader Kai-Fu Lee and breakout sci-fi author Chen Qiufan (aka Stanley Chen) make an educated guess in “AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future,” a set of stories and essays that explore AI’s potential and pitfalls.
After reading the book, Senior Editor Devin Coldewey talked with Lee and Chen about how the collaboration came about, how their points of view coincided and differed, and why they think the future will be how they describe it.
Peloton CEO John Foley on the changing face of connected fitness
Image Credits: Peloton
Peloton CEO John Foley discussed broader safety issues with the category, noting that the unfortunate circumstances behind a recent recall forced the company to take a closer look at product safety, as well as whether the company will maintain its pandemic-boosted growth as cities reopen.
“We’re seeing a lot more people get excited about Peloton and say, ‘I’m not going back to the gym, the gym was a failed model. It was a failed contract between the member and the business, and actually, I didn’t go to the gym. It wasn’t convenient, I didn’t want to go drive somewhere and shower outside my home and take that extra time away from my family,’” the CEO says.
Alex Wilhelm has spilled much ink about the Toast IPO in recent weeks, but he kept at it Thursday, comparing the debut of the Boston-based software-and-payments company to Remitly’s Wednesday evening flotation.
Seattle-based fintech Remitly, like Toast, priced above its proposed range.
“At $43 per share, Remitly is valued less like a fintech company with gross margins in the 50% to 60% range and more like a middle-tier public SaaS firm, flush with recurring revenues and net-dollar retention north of 100%,” Alex writes.
“The lesson from today’s public markets appears to be that revenue growth matters more than near-term margins for fintech companies, allowing them to secure valuations that far surpass their final private marks.”
“When we first shared LatAm’s digital acceleration story in last year’s Latin America Digital Transformation Report, we believed we were at the peak of digital growth catalyzed by the pandemic,” Julio Vasconcellos, the managing partner of Latin America-focused VC fund Atlantico, writes in a guest column.
“But with 2021 came all the second- and third-order effects of the crisis, further accelerating a continentwide tech expansion to a pace beyond any projections.”
Vasconcellos breaks down the details from this year’s report. Just one eye-popping stat: Eight new unicorns have already been minted in the region this year, nearly hitting the 2020 rate by midyear.
What Canva CEO Melanie Perkins looks for in a potential acquisition
Image Credits: Canva
Design software startup Canva has experienced “staggering growth,” Managing Editor Jordan Crook writes in a recap of her conversation with Canva CEO Melanie Perkins.
With a fresh $200 million and a $40 billion valuation, could Canva utilize acquisitions to continue that explosive growth?
“As a company with huge goals — to empower anyone in the world to design, and as a result of that, to become one of the most valuable companies in the world — anyone who helps Canva ‘leapfrog’ toward those goals is particularly interesting as an acquisition target,” Jordan wrote of her chat with the CEO.
How Calendly is building a platform by turning scheduling into a center-stage event
Image Credits: Calendly
Ingrid Lunden began with a simple question when she sat down with Calendly founder and CEO Tope Awotona: If the product works well, how do you take it to the next level — and frankly, why should you?
Calendly raised $350 million at a $3 billion valuation earlier this year, but little has changed despite the infusion of cash.
“The question I had at the time [of that funding round] was, will the company take it as a distraction and become enamored with the publicity that comes with that? Or will we stay focused and continue to work really hard for our customers and partners and ourselves?” Awotona says.
“Nine months later, it’s very clear that we’ve done the latter. Our culture and values have more or less remained the same.”
Microsoft now more focused on ‘killing Zoom’ than Slack, says Stewart Butterfield
Image Credits: TechCrunch
Slack founder and CEO Stewart Butterfield and Salesforce COO Bret Taylor discussed their $28 billion merger, how they’re integrating the two companies, and the ongoing competition it faces from Microsoft Teams, which has grown faster than Slack, and which Butterfield once said was “unhealthily obsessed with killing Slack.”
“Over the last year, maybe even 18 months, I think Microsoft’s preoccupation with Slack has shifted somewhat to a preoccupation with killing Zoom, because Teams turns out to not really [be] so much of a direct competitor,” Butterfield says.
Twitter’s Rinki Sethi on why CISOs win when security is a shared responsibility
Image Credits: Bryce Durbin / TechCrunch
When is the right time to hire someone to oversee a company’s security efforts?
In an interview with Security Editor Zack Whittaker, Twitter CISO Rinki Sethi talked about the modern role of a chief information security officer and how the next generation of CISOs can stay ahead.
“I’m not going to be the security idealist and say you need to invest in security before the product or business features, but I think there’s a really strong balance,” Sethi says. “If you think about building security right from the beginning, I think you do have a really strong competitive advantage.”
For BioNTech, the COVID-19 vaccine was simply the opening act
Image Credits: selvanegra / Getty Images
It took a global pandemic for BioNTech to become a household name: The technology it had been plugging away at meant it “happened to be positioned extremely well to use its mRNA technology to address the novel coronavirus, in part because it already had a partnership in place with Pfizer to develop a flu inoculation.”
BioNTech co-founder and CEO Uğur Şahin spoke with News Editor Darrell Etherington about the company’s start and its “broader vision,” which extends beyond the use of mRNA.
“Ultimately, BioNTech’s mission is to make treatments that are optimized not only to specific patient needs, but also to time and place,” Etherington writes in a recap for Extra Crunch. “All the treatments in the company’s pipeline are about refining the approach to addressing disease, making the process much more like a metaphorical scalpel than a bludgeon.”
“We can develop classical pharmaceuticals like a vaccine [in the case of COVID], but on the other side, also really continue to follow our vision,” Şahin says.
Seth Rogen explains how Houseplant promotes cannabis without breaking the rules
Image Credits: Houseplant
Many celebrities have turned their personal interests into thriving commercial concerns: Ryan Reynolds owns Aviation Gin, Jessica Alba founded nontoxic goods startup The Honest Company, and George Clooney will earn as much as $1 billion for selling his tequila company.
This year, actor Seth Rogen co-founded Houseplant, which sells pottery, cannabis and related accessories.
“We’ve sold house goods in all 50 states at this point,” Rogen explained. “That’s us, developing a relationship and trust with customers in places where weed is not legal yet.”
In a conversation with Managing Editor Matt Burns, Rogen, CEO Mike Mohr and chief commercial officer Haneen Davies discussed some of the challenges of brand-building within the confines of a strict regulatory environment.
“I think the merger of house and plant is what’s going to help us establish a brand name that goes beyond the limiting restrictions you have to abide by to communicate cannabis,” Davies says.
WarnerMedia’s Andy Forssell discusses a fascinating first year for HBO Max
Image Credits: Presley Ann/Getty Images for WarnerMedia
No one roots for a global pandemic, but WarnerMedia launched HBO Max just as cities and states across the U.S. restricted in-person gatherings as COVID-19 spread.
In many ways, the service seemed well-positioned, even in a crowded sector. HBO Max brought decades of critically acclaimed series, coupled with pricey acquisitions like the “Friends” and “South Park” back catalogs.
COO Andy Forssell joined TechCrunch Disrupt to discuss the fascinating 17.5 months of the service’s life so far:
“The early impacts were all negative, though, I think we, along with everyone in the industry, learned to roll with them,” he says. “Everybody had to work from home. That was tough, though I think we made the transition better than everyone thought. We were at launch mode at that point.”
Most people know Ryan Reynolds from his movies, but he also owns a majority stake in Mint Mobile, a mobile virtual network operator, which has grown more than 50,000% in the past three years. And he also invested in Aviation Gin before selling it for a staggering $600 million last year.
He’s also a founder of Maximum Effort, the marketing firm that promotes the “Deadpool” franchise, Aviation Gin, Mint Mobile, and that viral Match.com ad featuring Satan and the year 2020 as a match made in hell.
He spoke to Jordan Crook about how startups can adapt his concept of “fast-vertising” to use real-time cultural moments as a springboard for building their own brand buzz, among other things.
“When we lead with creative and we have an idea or are inspired by something, we get quite aggressive with our excitement and try to make something infectious around it,” Reynolds says.
Latin America finds a champion in SoftBank Group International CEO Marcelo Claure
Image Credits: Bryce Durbin
Since first announcing it was planting a stake in the ground in the region in early 2019, SoftBank has plugged more than $5 billion into Latin America and expects that number to top $8 billion by year’s end.
Its capital contributions are meaningful. In 2019, startups across Latin America raised $5.3 billion in funding, according to CB Insights. In 2020, they raised roughly the same amount.
This year, the pace of dealmaking has shifted into overdrive, with $9.3 billion being invested in Latin American startups in the first six months of the year. SoftBank Group CEO Marcelo Claure believes that by 2023, close to $30 billion will be invested in the region annually.
“Finally, the world has realized that Latin America has size,” Claure, a native of Bolivia, said this week at TechCrunch Disrupt.
Alex Wilhelm and Anna Heim have spent a lot of time unpacking this year’s staggering venture capital numbers, but they ended the week with a look at the value of startups eschewing VC.
“After all, not all successful startups are in a good position to IPO, and we are facing an IPO traffic jam that even SPACs are failing to solve,” they write.
“But funded unicorns can’t escape it: They need to provide liquidity to their investors, and it’s too late for them to pursue a different route. Their bootstrapped counterparts, in contrast, have options.”
Former Project Veritas & O’Keefe Media Group operative and Pfizer formulation analyst scientist Justin Leslie revealed previously unpublished recordings showing Pfizer’s top vaccine researchers discussing major concerns surrounding COVID-19 vaccines. Leslie delivered these recordings to Veritas in late 2021, but they were never published:
Principal scientist at Pfizer, Kanwall Gill in 2021:
“We had no idea how it’s going to look like. MRNA vaccines have been there for 50 years, but nothing went to clinical trial because MRNA have been known to have side effects.”
Featured in Leslie’s footage is Kanwal Gill, a principal scientist at Pfizer. Gill was weary of MRNA technology given its long research history yet lack of approved commercial products. She called the vaccines “sneaky,” suggesting latent side effects could emerge in time.
Gill goes on to illustrate how the vaccine formulation process was dramatically rushed under the FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization and adds that profit incentives likely played a role:
Pfizer's principal scientist in 2021:
“It takes 10 year for a vaccine to come out. It takes years of observations... we are doing everything at the same time."
"It’s going to affect my heart, and I’m going to die. And nobody’s talking about that."
Leslie recorded another colleague, Pfizer’s pharmaceutical formulation scientist Ramin Darvari, who raised the since-validated concern that repeat booster intake could damage the cardiovascular system:
Pfizer's pharmaceutical formulation scientist, Ramin Darvari, in 2021:
“They’re engineering it specifically for me to take the next one, so increasing my consumption."
“It’s going to affect my heart, and I’m going to die. And nobody’s talking about that.”
None of these claims will be shocking to hear in 2024, but it is telling that high-level Pfizer researchers were discussing these topics in private while the company assured the public of “no serious safety concerns” upon the jab’s release:
Vaccine for Children is a Different Formulation
Leslie sent me a little-known FDA-Pfizer conference — a 7-hour Zoom meeting published in tandem with the approval of the vaccine for 5 – 11 year-olds — during which Pfizer’s vice presidents of vaccine research and development, Nicholas Warne and William Gruber, discussed a last-minute change to the vaccine’s “buffer” — from “PBS” to “Tris” — to improve its shelf life. For about 30 seconds of these 7 hours, Gruber acknowledged that the new formula was NOT the one used in clinical trials (emphasis mine):
“The studies were done using the same volume… but contained the PBS buffer. We obviously had extensive consultations with the FDA and it was determined that the clinical studies were not required because, again, the LNP and the MRNA are the same and the behavior — in terms of reactogenicity and efficacy — are expected to be the same.”
According to Leslie, the tweaked “buffer” dramatically changed the temperature needed for storage: “Before they changed this last step of the formulation, the formula was to be kept at -80 degrees Celsius. After they changed the last step, we kept them at 2 to 8 degrees celsius,” Leslie told me.
The claims are backed up in the referenced video presentation:
I’m no vaccinologist but an 80-degree temperature delta — and a 5x shelf-life in a warmer climate — seems like a significant change that might warrant clinical trials before commercial release.
Despite this information technically being public, there has been virtually no media scrutiny or even coverage — and in fact, most were told the vaccine for children was the same formula but just a smaller dose — which is perhaps due to a combination of the information being buried within a 7-hour jargon-filled presentation and our media being totally dysfunctional.
Bohemian Grove?
Leslie’s 2-hour long documentary on his experience at both Pfizer and O’Keefe’s companies concludes on an interesting note: James O’Keefe attended an outing at the Bohemian Grove.
Leslie offers this photo of James’ Bohemian Grove “GATE” slip as evidence, left on his work desk atop a copy of his book, “American Muckraker”:
My thoughts on the Bohemian Grove: my good friend’s dad was its general manager for several decades. From what I have gathered through that connection, the Bohemian Grove is not some version of the Illuminati, at least not in the institutional sense.
Do powerful elites hangout there? Absolutely. Do they discuss their plans for the world while hanging out there? I’m sure it has happened. Do they have a weird ritual with a giant owl? Yep, Alex Jones showed that to the world.
My perspective is based on conversations with my friend and my belief that his father is not lying to him. I could be wrong and am open to evidence — like if boxer Ryan Garcia decides to produce evidence regarding his rape claims — and I do find it a bit strange the club would invite O’Keefe who is notorious for covertly filming, but Occam’s razor would lead me to believe the club is — as it was under my friend’s dad — run by boomer conservatives the extent of whose politics include disliking wokeness, immigration, and Biden (common subjects of O’Keefe’s work).
Therefore, I don’t find O’Keefe’s visit to the club indicative that he is some sort of Operation Mockingbird asset as Leslie tries to depict (however Mockingbird is a 100% legitimate conspiracy). I have also met James several times and even came close to joining OMG. While I disagreed with James on the significance of many of his stories — finding some to be overhyped and showy — I never doubted his conviction in them.
As for why Leslie’s story was squashed… all my sources told me it was to avoid jail time for Veritas executives.
Feel free to watch Leslie’s full documentary here and decide for yourself.
Fun fact — Justin Leslie was also the operative behind this mega-viral Project Veritas story where Pfizer’s director of R&D claimed the company was privately mutating COVID-19 behind closed doors:
BREAKING: @Pfizer Exploring "Mutating" COVID-19 Virus For New Vaccines
"Don't tell anyone this...There is a risk...have to be very controlled to make sure this virus you mutate doesn't create something...the way that the virus started in Wuhan, to be honest."#DirectedEvolutionpic.twitter.com/xaRvlD5qTo
“[…] our findings support the hypothesis that the intrauterine environment, particularly essential and non-essential metals, affect epigenetic aging biomarkers across the life course.”
Credit: 2024 Bozack et al.
“[…] our findings support the hypothesis that the intrauterine environment, particularly essential and non-essential metals, affect epigenetic aging biomarkers across the life course.”
BUFFALO, NY- March 12, 2024 – A new research paper was published inAging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as “Aging (Albany NY)” and “Aging-US” by Web of Science) Volume 16, Issue 4, entitled, “Associations of prenatal one-carbon metabolism nutrients and metals with epigenetic aging biomarkers at birth and in childhood in a US cohort.”
Epigenetic gestational age acceleration (EGAA) at birth and epigenetic age acceleration (EAA) in childhood may be biomarkers of the intrauterine environment. In this new study, researchers Anne K. Bozack, Sheryl L. Rifas-Shiman, Andrea A. Baccarelli, Robert O. Wright, Diane R. Gold, Emily Oken, Marie-France Hivert, and Andres Cardenas from Stanford University School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Columbia University, and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai investigated the extent to which first-trimester folate, B12, 5 essential and 7 non-essential metals in maternal circulation are associated with EGAA and EAA in early life.
“[…] we hypothesized that OCM [one-carbon metabolism] nutrients and essential metals would be positively associated with EGAA and non-essential metals would be negatively associated with EGAA. We also investigated nonlinear associations and associations with mixtures of micronutrients and metals.”
Bohlin EGAA and Horvath pan-tissue and skin and blood EAA were calculated using DNA methylation measured in cord blood (N=351) and mid-childhood blood (N=326; median age = 7.7 years) in the Project Viva pre-birth cohort. A one standard deviation increase in individual essential metals (copper, manganese, and zinc) was associated with 0.94-1.2 weeks lower Horvath EAA at birth, and patterns of exposures identified by exploratory factor analysis suggested that a common source of essential metals was associated with Horvath EAA. The researchers also observed evidence of nonlinear associations of zinc with Bohlin EGAA, magnesium and lead with Horvath EAA, and cesium with skin and blood EAA at birth. Overall, associations at birth did not persist in mid-childhood; however, arsenic was associated with greater EAA at birth and in childhood.
“Prenatal metals, including essential metals and arsenic, are associated with epigenetic aging in early life, which might be associated with future health.”
Read the full paper: DOI:https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.205602
Corresponding Author: Andres Cardenas
Corresponding Email:andres.cardenas@stanford.edu
Keywords: epigenetic age acceleration, metals, folate, B12, prenatal exposures
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About Aging:
Launched in 2009, Aging publishes papers of general interest and biological significance in all fields of aging research and age-related diseases, including cancer—and now, with a special focus on COVID-19 vulnerability as an age-dependent syndrome. Topics in Aging go beyond traditional gerontology, including, but not limited to, cellular and molecular biology, human age-related diseases, pathology in model organisms, signal transduction pathways (e.g., p53, sirtuins, and PI-3K/AKT/mTOR, among others), and approaches to modulating these signaling pathways.
Please visit our website at www.Aging-US.com and connect with us:
National insurance, income tax, VAT, capital gains tax, inheritance tax… it’s easy to get confused about the many different ways we contribute to the cost of running the country. The budget announcement is the key time each year when the government shares its financial plans with us all, and announces changes that may make a tangible difference to what you pay.
But you’ll likely be hearing a lot more about taxes in the coming months – promises to cut or raise them are an easy win (or lose) for politicians in an election year. We may even get at least one “mini-budget”.
If you’ve recently entered the workforce or the housing market, you may still be wrapping your mind around all of these terms. Here is what you need to know about the different types of taxes and how they affect you.
The UK broadly uses three ways to collect tax:
1. When you earn money
If you are an employee or own a business, taxes are deducted from your salary or profits you make. For most people, this happens in two ways: income tax, and national insurance contributions (or NICs).
If you are self-employed, you will have to pay your taxes via an annual tax return assessment. You might also have to pay taxes this way for interest you earn on savings, dividends (distribution of profits from a company or shares you own) received and most other forms of income not taxed before you get it.
VAT and excise duties are taxes on most goods and services you buy, with some exceptions like books and children’s clothing. About 20% of the total tax collected is VAT.
3. Taxes on wealth and assets
These are mainly taxes on the money you earn if you sell assets (like property or stocks) for more than you bought them for, or when you pass on assets in an inheritance. In the latter case in the UK, the recipient doesn’t pay this, it is the estate paying it out that must cover this if due. These taxes contribute only about 3% to the total tax collected.
You also likely have to pay council tax, which is set by the council you live in based on the value of your house or flat. It is paid by the user of the property, no matter if you own or rent. If you are a full-time student or on some apprenticeship schemes, you may get a deduction or not have to pay council tax at all.
This article is part of Quarter Life, a series about issues affecting those of us in our 20s and 30s. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.
Put together, these totalled almost £790 billion in 2022-23, which the government spends on public services such as the NHS, schools and social care. The government collects taxes from all sources and sets its spending plans accordingly, borrowing to make up any difference between the two.
Income tax
The amount of income tax you pay is determined by where your income sits in a series of “bands” set by the government. Almost everyone is entitled to a “personal allowance”, currently £12,570, which you can earn without needing to pay any income tax.
You then pay 20% in tax on each pound of income you earn (across all sources) from £12,570-£50,270. You pay 40% on each extra pound up to £125,140 and 45% over this. If you earn more than £100,000, the personal allowance (amount of untaxed income) starts to decrease.
If you are self-employed, the same rates apply to you. You just don’t have an employer to take this off your salary each month. Instead, you have to make sure you have enough money at the end of the year to pay this directly to the government.
The government can increase the threshold limits to adjust for inflation. This tries to ensure any wage rise you get in response to higher prices doesn’t lead to you having to pay a higher tax rate. However, the government announced in 2021 that they would freeze these thresholds until 2026 (extended now to 2028), arguing that it would help repay the costs of the pandemic.
Given wages are now rising for many to help with the cost of living crisis, this means many people will pay more income tax this coming year than they did before. This is sometimes referred to as “fiscal drag” – where lower earners are “dragged” into paying higher tax rates, or being taxed on more of their income.
National insurance
National insurance contributions (NICs) are a second “tax” you pay on your income – or to be precise, on your earned income (your salary). You don’t pay this on some forms of income, including savings or dividends, and you also don’t pay it once you reach state retirement age (currently 66).
While Jeremy Hunt, the current chancellor of the exchequer, didn’t adjust income tax meaningfully in this year’s budget, he did announce a cut to NICs. This was a surprise to many, as we had already seen rates fall from 12% to 10% on incomes higher than £242/week in January. It will now fall again to 8% from April.
While this is charged separately to income tax, in reality it all just goes into one pot with other taxes. Some, including the chancellor, say it is time to merge these two deductions and make this simpler for everyone. In his budget speech this year, Hunt said he’d like to see this tax go entirely. He thinks this isn’t fair on those who have to pay it, as it is only charged on some forms of income and on some workers.
I wouldn’t hold my breath for this to happen however, and even if it did, there are huge sums linked to NICs (nearly £180bn last year) so it would almost certainly have to be collected from elsewhere (such as via an increase in income taxes, or a lot more borrowing) to make sure the government could still balance its books.
There are likely to be further tweaks to the UK’s tax system soon, perhaps by the current government before the election – and almost certainly if there is a change of government.
Wealth taxes may be in line for a change. In the budget, the chancellor reduced capital gains taxes on sales of assets such as second properties (from 28% to 24%). These types of taxes provide only a limited amount of money to the government, as quite high thresholds apply for inheritance tax (up to £1 million if you are passing on a family home).
There are calls from many quarters though to look again at these types of taxes. Wealth inequality (the differences between total wealth held by the richest compared to the poorest) in the UK is very high (much higher than income inequality) and rising.
But how to do this effectively is a matter of much debate. A recent study suggested a one-off tax on total wealth held over a certain threshold might work. But wealth taxes are challenging to make work in practice, and both main political parties have already said this isn’t an option they are considering currently.
Andy Lymer and his colleagues at the Centre for Personal Financial Wellbeing at Aston University currently or have recently received funding for their research work from a variety of funding bodies including the UK's Money and Pension Service, the Aviva Foundation, Fair4All Finance, NEST Insight, the Gambling Commission, Vivid Housing and the ESRC, amongst others.
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