Money, in brief

Florida voters are projected to approve Amendment 3, with 62% of votes for it and 98% counted. [1] It needed 60%, because it changes Florida's constitution. [1][2]

Amendment 3 raises the part of a lived-in home's value that is free of local property tax. [1] It goes from $50,000 now to $150,000 in 2027, then $250,000 in 2028. [1]

Ron DeSantis, Florida's governor, estimated the 2028 level would end property tax for 60% of Florida homeowners. [1]

Owners already living in their homes gain from 2027. [1] Councils must now fill the gap with other taxes, fees or cuts. [2]

Public finance economists call this tax shifting: cut one group's property tax, and the bill moves onto others. [2]

In Florida, councils may raise rates on rental and business property, or charge new fees for rubbish and drains. [2]

When one friend stops paying into a shared pizza order, the others' share of the bill goes up.

In August a judge ruled the measure's first title was "more akin to a political slogan" than a neutral statement. [1]

Byron Donalds, projected to win the governor's race, backed Amendment 3. [1] He has said he wants to end homestead property taxes altogether. [4]

The first step, a $150,000 exemption, reaches tax bills in 2027. [1]

Voters in Florida and North Carolina cut or capped taxes in their state constitutions on Tuesday. [1][5]

In both states the money lost falls on local councils, and neither measure says how they will replace it. [2][5]

A cut shows up as a smaller number on each homeowner's own bill, while the 11.8 billion dollars Florida's councils lose is spread across services nobody has named yet. [2]

They pay less on a home they already own, while people who arrive later wait five years for the same cut. [1]

Councils may raise rates on rental property to replace lost money, and the measure gives renters no cut of their own. [2]

With a small tax base and few other ways to raise money, they face the biggest risk of cuts to services. [2]

Which Florida services will be cut, or which fees will rise.

The amendment lists essential services but also allows any spending councils approve, which may leave its limits with no force. [2]

Whether Florida can legally tax newcomers more than long-time owners.

An economist writing on the measure says treating current and future homeowners differently raises legal questions, and no court has ruled. [2]

Tennessee voters are projected to ban any state property tax in the state's constitution. [7]

The ban had 66.4% support with 82% counted, the Associated Press reported. [7] It needed more yes votes than half of all votes cast for governor. [7]

Tennessee has had no state property tax since 1949. [7] Counties and towns still charge their own, and the ban leaves those alone. [7]

Bill Lee, Tennessee's governor, backed it, as did the state's estate agents and a small-business group. [7]

Some Democrats said the ban belonged in an ordinary state law, not the constitution. [7]

No home tax bill falls today, because there was no state property tax to cut. [7] Future lawmakers lose the power to start one. [7]

Public finance economists call this a constitutional tax limit: only a new amendment can now undo Tennessee's ban. [7]

A new amendment needs two-thirds of lawmakers in two sessions, then a vote of the people. [7]

A rule carved into the school's founding charter cannot be changed by one teacher on a bad day.

Why a tax limit written into a constitution binds lawmakers not yet elected

Voters write a tax limit into the constitution

An ordinary law can be changed by a simple majority

The limit needs a supermajority or a new public vote to undo

So lawmakers elected years later inherit it

In a bad year they must cut or borrow, not raise that tax

A tax limit in a constitution is decided by today's voters for lawmakers who have not been elected yet.

An ordinary tax law changes with a simple majority. Tennessee's ban needs two-thirds of lawmakers in two sessions, then a vote of the people.

the ban is now in the constitution, so only two-thirds of lawmakers in two sessions plus a public vote can undo it

the cap stops any future legislature setting income tax above 3.5% unless voters change the constitution again

the opposite case: a phase-out agreed by an ordinary vote in 2015 was stopped by another ordinary vote this week

The limit also binds in a bad year: when a recession cuts what a state collects, it cannot raise that tax and must cut services or borrow instead.

Tuesday's voters chose for a council worker, a renter and a child too young to vote.

North Carolina voters approved a cap of 3.5% on the state's income tax rate, written into its constitution. [5]

The Associated Press called it with 61% of votes for and 89% counted. [5]

The old cap, set by voters in 2018, was 7%. [5] Today everyone pays one rate, 3.99%, and it is due to fall. [5]

Josh Stein, the state's Democratic governor, called it "a millionaire protection cap". [5]

A second amendment, to limit yearly rises in property tax, was still being counted late on Tuesday. [5]

A housing group said a 2% cap on councils' property tax take would have saved a homeowner $84 a year. [5]

Councils would have collected $950 million less, the same analysis found. [5]

Property taxes bring in more than half of county general budget money in North Carolina. [5] Rural Tyrrell County, home to 3,000 people, fears cuts. [5]

Public finance economists call this a tax limit: income tax cannot pass 3.5% unless voters change the constitution. [5]

Michael Lee, the senator who wrote it, says it locks in more than a decade of tax cuts. [5] Stein says ordinary people will bear the cost instead. [5]

the cap stops any future legislature setting income tax above 3.5% unless voters change the constitution again

Josh Stein says a cap on the single rate shields the wealthy from any future rise. [5]

How tight North Carolina's property tax limit will be.

The amendment was still being counted, and it leaves the size of the limit and its exceptions to lawmakers to set later. [5]

Rhode Island voters are projected to pass Question 2, letting the state borrow $120 million for affordable homes. [8]

It had 61% support with 84% counted, the state's elections board said. [8]

Of the money, $25 million must go to homes for sale and $10 million to public housing. [8]

Building is due to start in 2028, with the homes ready from 2029 to 2032. [8]

Aaron Guckian, the Republican candidate for governor, opposed it. [8] He asked for an account of the housing money already being spent. [8]

Rhode Island is short of about 23,000 affordable homes for renters on low incomes, a housing coalition estimates. [8]

Public finance calls this a general obligation bond: the state borrows now and taxpayers repay it, with interest. [8]

Rhode Island borrows $120 million, and repays about $192.5 million in all once interest is added. [8]

Buying a bike on a payment plan gets you the bike now, but the plan costs more than the bike.

They repay the housing bond with interest for years after it is spent. [8]

Donald Trump had promised $5,000 to every adult citizen if Republicans kept both houses of the US Congress. [9]

Democrats won both houses, NBC News projected, so the condition he set was not met. [9]

The checks would have cost about $1.22 trillion and would have needed a new law either way. [9]

In an Economist and YouGov poll, 57% of registered voters doubted he would pay even if Republicans won. [9]

Earlier promises of a $5,000 dividend from DOGE, Trump's cost-cutting team, and $2,000 tariff checks never paid out. [9]

Households were offered cash that never had a law behind it. [9] A $1.22 trillion payout would have been paid for by more US government borrowing. [9]

Political scientists call this the power of the purse: the checks needed Congress to pass a law. [9]

A parent can promise pocket money, but if the other parent holds the purse, it needs their yes too.

Barclays will start offering car finance compensation this month to tens of thousands of UK customers who complained. [10]

Some who accept could be paid before Christmas, the Guardian reports. [10]

Lenders overcharged drivers through commissions paid to car dealers between 2007 and 2024. [10]

The Financial Conduct Authority, the UK's financial regulator, set up a 9.1 billion pound scheme. [10] It expects an average payout of 829 pounds. [10]

Court challenges paused the scheme, and they are due to be heard from 16 February to 3 March 2027. [11]

The regulator says early offers must at least match what the scheme would pay. [11] Customers who accept keep the money, but cannot claim more later. [11]

About 12 million car loans are covered, 37% of all those made in the period. [13]

Most drivers will still wait, because the regulator expects only a minority of claimants to get early offers. [12]

Economists call this a settlement: a sure sum now, traded for an unsure one later. [10] Waiting could bring more, less or nothing. [10]

If the court backs the scheme, payments could start in 2027. [10] If it is appealed, compensation could wait until 2028 or later. [10]

A friend offers to pay back a lost bet today, or you can wait and argue for more next month.

Barclays has set aside 430 million pounds, but has not said how many customers will get offers. [10]

They can be paid before Christmas, and Barclays will not ask for money back if the court later sets a lower sum. [10]

Whether the UK car finance scheme survives in court.

The challenges are heard from 16 February to 3 March 2027, and an appeal could push payouts to 2028 or later. [10][11]

Some UK drivers overcharged on car loans could have their compensation from Barclays before Christmas, instead of waiting until 2027 or later.

The UK government plans a default option that turns a workplace pension pot into an income for life. [14]

It says the change will affect 17 million workers saving into a pension. [14]

Most final salary schemes, which paid a set income for life, closed over the past 30 years. [14]

George Osborne, then the chancellor, ended the rule forcing savers to buy an annuity, an income for life. [14]

Nearly half of pension pots first used in 2025-26 were emptied, the UK government says. [14]

Torsten Bell, the pensions minister, said too many savers are "left without a genuine pension". [14]

Savers who empty their pot risk outliving their savings and relying on the state pension alone. [14]

Behavioural economists call this a default: the option people get when they choose nothing. [14]

Auto-enrolment, a default, lifted eligible private workers saving into pensions from 4 in 10 to 9 in 10. [14]

A phone that backs up photos unless you switch it off saves more photos than one you must set up.

How many savers will take the UK's new default pension income.

Savers can still withdraw their money or invest it elsewhere, and the plan is a proposal so far. [14]

A tribunal in England approved an 88% rent rise on a home in Dagenham. [15]

The tenant, on housing benefit, saw the rent rise from 1,200 pounds to 2,250 pounds a month. [15]

Since May, the Renters' Rights Act has let tenants challenge rises more easily, for a 47 pound fee. [15]

A London Renters Union study looked at cases from May to October. [15] It found 80% of those tenants still paid more, on average 1,200 pounds a year. [15]

The full rise stood in 36% of cases, was cut in 42%, cancelled in 16% and lowered in 6%. [15]

Landlords' and tenants' groups both say the system is "not working for anyone". [15]

Tenants in London have been sent to hearings in the Midlands because of backlogs. [15]

Housing economists call this rent control case by case: a tribunal checks each rent against the local market. [15]

Where a whole area's rents climb fast, the market rent climbs too, so big rises can pass. [15]

If a teacher only checks you are as fast as the class, a whole class speeding up passes the test.

Only just over 30 full-time judges hear these cases across the country, the landlords' association says. [15]

In England's rent tribunals since May, 16% of challenged rent rises were cancelled and 6% of tenants had their rent lowered.

Fewer British workers are willing to go the extra mile, a report by the Resolution Foundation think tank found. [16]

Those willing fell from 69% in 2015 to 55% in 2025, in a survey of 4,656 adults. [16]

Workers saying their job is interesting fell from 74% to 63% over the decade. [16]

Workers were also more focused on pay, after a decade of flat living standards. [16]

John Curtice, a politics professor who co-edited the report, said young people have not become "work-shy". [16]

The think tank says this may help explain weak productivity, the output of each work hour, since the pandemic. [16]

Labour economists study the effort a job contract does not require. [16] Quiet quitting is doing only what the boss asks. [16]

With pay flat for a decade, workers "acting their wage" give only the effort the pay buys. [16]

A pupil who gets no marks for neat diagrams soon stops colouring them in.

UK regulators asked for views on easing the rules for credit unions, which have over 2 million members. [17]

Credit unions are owned by their members and mostly offer savings and personal loans in one area or job. [17]

One idea cuts paperwork for small credit unions. [17] Another gives big ones more flexible rules on the money they must hold. [17]

A third idea lets credit unions convert into building societies, with a wider range of ways to raise money. [17]

The Prudential Regulation Authority, part of the Bank of England, and the Financial Conduct Authority wrote the paper together. [17]

The FCA says credit unions serve many people who may otherwise struggle to find affordable loans. [17]

Regulators call this proportionality: a small lender should face simpler rules than a big, complex one. [17]

A corner shop needs fewer safety checks than a big supermarket.

An adult swim at Perdiswell Leisure Centre in Worcester could rise 6.8%, from 7.30 pounds to 7.80 pounds. [18]

Fitness classes would rise 5.6% to 9.50 pounds, and yearly memberships by 4.9%. [18]

The average fee would rise 5.3% from January, above UK inflation of 3.6%. [18]

Freedom Leisure, which runs the centre, says its gas prices rose over 50% in the second half of the year. [18]

Worcester City Council is due to decide on 24 November. [18]

Colin English, a pensioner who goes four or five times a week, said he may have to reconsider. [18]

Economists call this cost pass-through: when energy and staff cost more, a firm raises its prices. [18]

When the ice cream van's fuel gets dearer, the cone costs a bit more.

Guernsey's parliament voted to keep tax relief on mortgage interest, in an amendment to the island's Budget. [19]

Homeowners can claim relief on up to 3,500 pounds a year of interest on their main home. [19]

A phased end to the relief, agreed in 2015, has now stopped. [19]

Deputy Aidan Matthews, who proposed it, said it was the "worst possible time" to phase it out. [19]

Deputy Neil Inder warned that all the Budget changes together would add 20 million pounds. [19]

Deputy Jayne Ozanne called it an "unfair advantage" for owners over renters. [19] Island rents average over 2,000 pounds a month, she said. [19]

Public finance calls a tax break a tax expenditure: Guernsey collects less, as if it had spent the money. [19]

the opposite case: a phase-out agreed by an ordinary vote in 2015 was stopped by another ordinary vote this week

Australia's four biggest banks will raise variable home loan rates by 0.25 points from 13 November. [20]

ANZ says that adds about $79 a month on a $500,000 loan for a home its owner lives in. [20]

They follow the Reserve Bank of Australia's rise to 4.85%, an 18-year high, on Tuesday. [20]

Macquarie Bank moved first, within an hour of the decision. [20]

Savings rates also rise, but savers who miss a bank's conditions drop to about 0.10%, Canstar says. [20]

In a Canstar survey, 1 in 10 borrowers said they could not meet the higher payments. [21]

Laura Mayer, a renter, said her rent rose 32% this year in one go. [21]

Lenders call this a variable rate: it follows the bank's own rate, so payments rise from 13 November. [20]

A phone plan charged per gigabyte costs more the month the price per gigabyte goes up.

Banks have been slower to pass rises to savers, Australia's ABC news service found. [20]

Their savings rate rises with the Reserve Bank's, while others fall back to about 0.10%. [20]

Their monthly payment goes up from 13 November without any new contract. [20]

How many Australian borrowers fall behind on payments.

The 1 in 10 figure comes from a Canstar survey of what borrowers expect, not from missed payments. [21]

JetBlue, a US airline, raised its checked bag fees for the third time in under a year. [22]

A first bag in economy now costs up to $70 at peak times, if paid within 24 hours of flying. [22]