Now that I’ve had some time to think about it.. here’s my feelings, not that it matters as I’m just a nobody.
National Insurance, a payroll tax, cut by 2p in the pound for employees and the self-employed
Better in my pocket than theirs, this could signal the end of NI which would simplify the UK tax system.
If we are getting rid of NI, this may cost us more in taxes in the long run, pensioners don’t pay NI and if they roll NI into income tax.. we may end up paying a lot more tax on our pension pots. Easy enough to resolve by increasing the tax free percentage.
Non-dom tax regime, for UK residents whose permanent home is overseas, to be replaced with new rules from April 2025
This needs to be done but it won’t happen during this government. I would go further and say if they have a resident address in the UK then they should be paying UK taxes.
£5,000 UK ISA tax allowance for savers investing in "UK-focused" shares - to be set up following a consultation
Pointless, just another way of trying to get people to invest in a market that’s moving sideways. If the billions of uk pension pots ain’t helping the uk market, the extra 5k per person who decides to do this ain’t going to help.
If you already have 20k a year to invest, surely you would know of other ways to obtain tax relief or even better pay taxes on the extra that you have made.
You could invest 20k in an all world excluding uk and then invest £800 into this to cover the 4% that is the uk market.
Full child benefits to be paid to households where highest-earning parent earns up to £60,000 - the current limit is £50,000
Partial child benefit to be paid where highest earner earns up to £80,000
Not a parent, but the formula is used is well shoddy. The government stopped married tax allowance a while back, thou you can still claim to use unused personal income allowance of a partner. This whole thing needs to be reformed for fairness.
Longer repayment period for people on benefits taking out emergency budgeting loans from the government
Government fund for people struggling with cost of living pressures to continue for another six months
£90 admin fee to obtain a debt relief order scrapped
Good for those who need it.
Freeze on alcohol duty, which had been due to end in August, to continue until February 2025
Personally I don’t drink that much now a days, pubs are dying and its the bare minimum to give them a fighting chance.
New tax on vaping products from October 2026, linked to the levels of nicotine
I vape.. I understand why they want to tax this and agree that certain items should be taxed but jumping from zero to the proposed tax rates is extreme.
- £1 per 10ml for nicotine free e-liquids
- £2 per 10ml for e-liquids containing nicotine at concentrations between 0.1 to 10.9mg per ml
- £3 per 10ml for e-liquids containing nicotine at concentrations 11mg per ml, or above
Tobacco duty to go up £2.00 per 100 cigarettes at same time, to ensure vaping remains cheaper
That’s an extra 40p for a pack of 20…
I used to smoke a lot less cigs than I vape.. might be cheaper for me to start smoking again..
Fuel duty frozen again, with the 5p cut in fuel duty on petrol and diesel, due to end later this month, kept for another year
I work from home and only use my car twice a week.. £40 a month is enough for me.. not going to make any difference to me.
"Windfall" tax on the profits of energy firms, which had been scheduled to end in March 2028, extended until 2029
Better still if they cap the prices correctly so the money never leaves people’s accounts and let the people decide what to do with the money, rather than the government deciding.
Air passenger duty, the tax paid on flights, to go up for business class tickets
Luxury tax, never needed to travel business class and I doubt that I ever will.
£160m deal for UK government to purchase site of planned Wylfa nuclear site in north Wales
A further £120m for a government fund that invests in green energy projects
Much needed
Higher rate of tax paid on profits from selling property cut from 28% to 24%
Trying to influence more people to sell their property portfolio to free up much needed houses for homes, this is the carrot.
Tax breaks for owners of holiday let properties scrapped
Not sure how this was a thing in the first place.. this is the stick.
someone buying a house to holiday let could have offered more for the house as the tax breaks may mean the total cost of purchase is less than someone buying without the tax breaks.
Stamp duty tax break when purchasing multiple properties in England or Northern Ireland to end in June
Again seems crazy that this was a thing when there’s a limitation in supply and much demand. Someone buying multiple houses could offer more knowing that they would get a stamp duty discount than someone who was just wanting the one house and not getting a discount.
NHS budget to go up £2.5bn next year; the service will also get £3.4bn up to 2030 to improve productivity
More money for the NHS is always good..
Having worked in IT for a medical industry, they may want to split the IT service away from the medical care side. Start with administration, then more on to the equipment. Let the doctors and nurses heal and let a totally different centralised division do all the paperwork and lab work.
Threshold at which small businesses must register to pay VAT raised from £85,000 to £90,000 from April
This is to cover inflation.
Covid-era government loan scheme for small businesses extended until March 2026
What about all the fraud?
Tax reliefs for touring and orchestral productions, which had to been due to end in March 2025, made permanent
Nope… if a company can’t stay afloat without tax reliefs then they shouldn’t exist or your taxes aren’t correct.
£1m for a memorial to honour Muslims who fought for Britain during World War One and Two
Yes but should this not be standard and as part of the heritage budget?
A new tax credit for independent UK films with a budget of less than £15m
Like with tax reliefs for touring and orchestral productions, but we are giving them money.. shouldn’t need to be a thing.
I don’t think this is the final act before a general election is called.. if it is then they are going battle poorly armed.
The main disappointment is not raising the tax brackets, it was set at a time of austerity and what has happen with inflation, keeping the policy in place is causing so much fiscal drag and making it much harder for some people than it’s needed.
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www.theguardian.com
Mind you, now the civil service have got the idea...
