The age of Austerity is apparently over and there was some small increases in public spending foreshadowed in Philip Hammond’s Budget speech. However this was tempered by reference to the impending Brexit negotiations and if there is a bad outcome things might just change. The main points:
Personal
The personal allowance (how much you can earn before paying tax) is to rise to £12,500 and the higher-rate threshold where 40% tax kicks in will go up to £50,000. Thus anyone in work will have a few pounds more a month in their pockets.
The National Living Wage is going up by 4.9% to £8.21 an hour for over-25s. This is well ahead of inflation good news for workers but may have an effect on small employers who will have to pass this on.
Stamp Duty is to be abolished for first-time buyers of shared-ownership homes worth up to £500,000 – not sure how many first time buyers will be looking for half a million pound houses buy hey it makes good reading.
Fuel Duty remains unchanged – but still accounts for 57.95p of the price of a litre.
If you like a drink you are in luck – Beer Spirits and most Ciders are not going up.
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However if Wine is your tipple of choice duty will rise by 8p which shouldn’t affect you too much (if it does you really need to cut back!)
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Now for you smokers things are not so good Tobacco duties will rise by inflation + 2% adding around 33p to a packet of 20 Cigarettes. Rolling your own wont help as it is set to rise by 3% + inflation. Now might be a good time to consider stopping.
If you like a flutter on-line expect the odds to never be in your favour as duty is set to rise to 21% for online gambling on “games of chance” next year. Games of Skill such as fantasy football will now offer even better value.
Business
Corporation tax remains at 19% for 2019/20 but is expected to be cut to 17% in 2020/21, although tech giants with over £500m of revenue might not see the benefit if the Chancellor’s 2% sales levy comes into force. Expect plenty of lobbying from Google, Facebook et al. on this one.
Small businesses with rateable value properties of £51,000 or less will see their bills cut by 1/3 over the next 2 years – which will help offset the increase in the minimum wage.
Finally on a Lighter Note
It was announced that the Bank of England will be issuing a commemorative 50p coin to mark the UK’s departure from the European Union (EU) next year. A future collector’s item?
Anyone looking for a more in-depth but still easy to read guide can find one here
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