After a huge furore over massive rises in costs, chancellor caves in to pressure, giving pubs a 15% cut in business rates bills from April

Government plans to overhaul ground rent charges for leaseholders with an annual cap of £250 a year from 2028, ending ‘feudal household system’

Changes to tax rules will see salary sacrifice on pensions slashed in 2028, while majority of SMEs pay only 3% to auto enrolment pots for their staff

Administrators called in at Yorkshire gin maker Spirit of Harrogate, the name behind Slingsby gin, due to ‘rising costs’ and ‘difficult trading conditions’

In this week’s career moves, partner promotions and hires at AAB, Grant Thornton, Forvis Mazars, Prime Accountants Group, Quantify Advisors, Simmons Gainsford, Azets, AAT, ITV

Jonathan Barber, executive director - UK of the Institute of Financial Accountants gives his take on the year ahead from the impact of accountants increasingly hyper-specialising to acute shortages of skilled staff to worries about lack of guardrails in a world of seemingly unregulated AI

Watchdog bans Facebook ads over claims of ‘misleading’ investment returns on Irish cask whiskey

High end shoe retailer Russell & Bromley survives as Next comes to rescue but 33 stores likely to close with 400 jobs at risk

Six-month delay to Companies House mandatory requirement for accountancy firms filing accounts for client companies to complete ID verification 

Inflation rises due to pricier cigarettes, wine, and airfares, ‘likely closes door on February interest rate cut’

Leading tax and accountancy bodies issue guidance on ethical use of artificial intelligence (AI) in tax work stressing importance of client transparency and disclosure about usage 

A major review of public spending launched to focus on wasteful duplication across government departments in bid to cut costs and improve efficiency