Newspaper headlines: Tax rises 'backlash', and schools' budget 'crisis'
By BBC News Staff
Published
14 minutes ago
image captionSeveral papers lead with the rumoured tax hikes in the upcoming Budget. Chancellor Rishi Sunak has been warned that tax rises could "choke off" the UK's coronavirus recovery, the Daily Telegraph reports. They could also impact the UK's investment appeal post-Brexit and could drive away top talent, the paper adds, citing concerns from business leaders, economists and Tory MPs. One Conservative backbencher, Marcus Fysh, tells the paper: "We need to help the economy, not strangle it." Meanwhile, more than 700 schools will not fully reopen this week, choosing instead to phase students back, the paper adds.
image captionThe Budget could target pensions, second homes and companies in order to raise £30bn, the i reports. However, Conservative MPs and businesses have warned against raising capital gains and corporation tax. The paper adds that the Treasury is also examining plans to change the triple-lock for pensioners and reduce foreign aid. A senior minister is quoted on the front page as saying: "A lot of us are very worried about massive tax hikes bearing in mind the fragility of the economy."
image captionMeanwhile, targeting pensions will cause "uproar" and badly damage the government, the Daily Express quotes campaigners as saying.
image captionSpeculation over the Budget also makes the front page of the Financial Times, with Conservative MPs warning Mr Sunak not to impose hefty tax rises on businesses and the wealthy in order to fill the fiscal hole left by the coronavirus pandemic. And ByteDance's hopes to sell popular video sharing app TikTok in the US have been thrown into doubt after China expanded its list of technologies subject to export controls, the FT reports.
image captionElsewhere, head teachers have warned that they are being forced to weigh pupil safety against financial stability due to budgets being stretched by coronavirus, the Guardian reports. A government support fund which closed in July has not reopened in time for the return of millions of pupils this week, the paper adds. Also on the front page is a warning from leading scientists against a "nationalistic" and "capitalistic" rush to roll out a vaccine that could risk making the pandemic worse.
image captionContinuing with coverage of schools' return this week, the Daily Mirror calls it: "The biggest test yet." The paper says the majority of teachers fear that social distancing between pupils and staff will be impossible. The head of school leaders' union the NAHT has insisted schools have done "all they can" to make classrooms safe. Frustration remains over the government's decision to issue last-minute guidance on Friday night on what to do in the event of an outbreak.
image captionThe Times says "reluctant" employees are choosing to work from home, rather than travel to the office. The paper cites a survey by the AA, which found that 40% of people who normally drove to work were working from home all or part of the time, rising to 54% among managers and professionals. The government is keen to get people back to the office in order to boost town and city centre businesses, but this now appears to be "stalling", the paper says.
image caption"Let's banish all the bags," the Daily Mail says, with a photo of a swan with a plastic bag in its beak the main image dominating the front page. The price of single-use bags will double - rising to 10p - and will be extended to all small shops, markets and takeaways, the paper reports. The new charge will come into effect in England from April. "This is the end of the giveaway plastic bag," a source is quoted as telling the paper.
image captionAnd a "polar plunge" has led to the coldest August bank holiday in 50 years, the Daily Star reports. Temperatures were lower than last Christmas, the paper adds, but that didn't stop revellers celebrating the long weekend.
