Autumn budget 2017: Corbyn blasts `empty promises` as Hammond announces stamp duty changes and slower growth - live!
(The Guardian Money News)

Rolling coverage as chancellor Philip Hammond delivers the 2017 autumn budgetCorbyn: Budget is record of failureStamp duty changes will drive up prices!The key pointsGrowth forecasts cutFuel duty frozen£3bn more for Brexit 3.47pm GMT Here is the response to the budget from John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor. And here is an excerpt.This is a `nothing has changed´ budget from an out-of-touch Government with no idea of the reality of people´s lives and no plan to improve them.Philip Hammond has completely failed to recognise the scale of the emergency in our public services. 3.40pm GMT One campaign group has cast doubt on the government´s ability to enforce laws to make Amazon and eBay pay for VAT fraud, as promised in the budget.Richard Allen, the spokesperson for Retailers Against VAT Abuse Schemes, which first exposed the issue, said the government is yet to prove that it is capable of enforcing new laws on digital giants. He said:The government says it will make it easier for HMRC to prosecute Amazon and eBay for facilitating this activity. But we haven´t seen the wording yet of the legislation and so we can´t be sure as to how precise it will be or if it will leave a loophole which can be exploited by these giant companies´ lawyers. These firms have already admitted they knew about the VAT fraud, so why bother with the proposed legislation? Prof Rita de la Feria, professor of tax law at Leeds University, told the public accounts committee that new legislation was not necessary, it was an issue of enforcement. She was right. Continue reading...