Budget 2024

I was thinking the same ruthiek. Surely such an important speech should be made without heckling.

So depressing. No wonder everything is so chaotic and out of control with these (for a large part) idiots running the country.

I think the behaviour of the opposition parties is more akin to a pantomime than the H of P.

GrannyGravy13

I think the behaviour of the opposition parties is more akin to a pantomime than the H of P.

To be fair, the noise was coming from all sides of the house, those supporting the Chancellor were making as much noise as those who were not. I agree that it was a circus though

I agree GG. A disgraceful performance by them.

NHS funding - which comes high on the list of the majority of voter

Nothing extra - zero -

The IFS have warned Hunt of the disastrous result if he fails to provide the necessary funding.

Labour now have a golden opportunity to guarantee raising the tax threshold from £12570 to a more appropriate level to benefit pensioners and the low paid in their first budget.

A certain vote winner with those voters and it’ll serve the Tories right for looking after the high earners!

Nice to see 2p reduction in NI but the wrong area imo. I believe they should have removed the freeze on the personal allowance and raised it, along with raising the threshold for the next level of tax.

Nothing in this budget really for us pensioners and nothing for AFFORDABLE housing! We have lots of building going on around us, some lovely extremely expensive flats (£1m) nothing to help young nurses, teachers, and other professionals to get their foot in the housing ladder.

Any reduction in NI means a reduction in public services. Less for councils who are already squeezed.

I strongly suspect that the personal allowance will be raised in the autumn statement, along with the announcement of other popular measures, and that the GE will be announced after that. The OBR had warned that there was little fiscal headroom and Hunt listens to them.

Grandmabatty

Any reduction in NI means a reduction in public services. Less for councils who are already squeezed.

Yes, which is why I wouldn’t have done this rather than increase thresholds

Germanshepherdsmum

I strongly suspect that the personal allowance will be raised in the autumn statement, along with the announcement of other popular measures, and that the GE will be announced after that. The OBR had warned that there was little fiscal headroom and Hunt listens to them.

Why would the same government who have frozen the personal allowance til 2028, remove this freeze in 2024?

This budget will do nothing for Tory poll ratings -

They will argue that the economic situation has improved, Cossy - and of course they will be courting votes. The chancellor has today extended measures which were due to come to an end and he can, if it is fiscally responsible in the autumn, end the freeze or bring forward the date on which it is scheduled to end.

Tax will continue to rise.

Income Growth considerably downgraded

Borrowing more than forecast

Whitewavemark2

NHS funding - which comes high on the list of the majority of voter

Nothing extra - zero -

The IFS have warned Hunt of the disastrous result if he fails to provide the necessary funding.

I thought the NHS got an extra £2.5bn? Or did I misread that.

Jaxjacky

Whitewavemark2

NHS funding - which comes high on the list of the majority of voter

Nothing extra - zero -

The IFS have warned Hunt of the disastrous result if he fails to provide the necessary funding.

I thought the NHS got an extra £2.5bn? Or did I misread that.

No that was Hunts big headline, but it was announced previously and it is to (he argues) keep the status quo.

Effectively it is a funding cut.

They are getting considerable assistance with AI in order to improve clinical and administrative efficiency and reduce doctors’ admin workloads. Just chucking money at the NHS means they have more to waste. Efficiency has to be improved.

Raising the threshold of child benefit from £50,000 to £60,000 will help middle income families, as will the 2p reduction in NI.

I would like to have seen an increase in the personal allowance which would have helped a lot of working age and pensioners.

Wow! What an appalling performance by all of them! I suppose it's "just high spirits" because they're MP's. But if someone on Universal Credit were to carry on like that on a public street......

I don’t think that was affordable just now GG, but I hope it will be come the autumn.

This, from Sky News.

‘We've just been hearing from our economics and data editor Ed Conway about the tax burden.
Although he noted it has barely been a couple of hours since the chancellor delivered the budget, he highlighted "quite a few charts that the chancellor didn't refer to" during his speech.
The "most striking of all", he said, is taxes as a percentage of GDP, which is what economists refer to as the tax burden - "the overall measure of how highly taxed the economy is".
Ed said that after the autumn statement in November, the tax burden was forecast to reach the highest level since 1948.
After this budget, the tax burden is forecast to be "a little bit lower than last time around, so certainly there is a change - it is still heading up to the highest level since 1948".
This is despite the cuts to national insurance and other tax changes announced by the chancellor in the autumn statement and this budget.’

Why would the same government who have frozen the personal allowance til 2028, remove this freeze in 2024?

They’ll do it just before a GE simply to win votes. TBH, after today’s shambles I feel pretty disgusted with those in power in this country. Everything is about chasing votes and political oneupmanship; it feels like nothing is about actually making the country better for ordinary people.

The government’s plans are to use the frozen personal tax allowance to create fiscal drag until 2028-29, bringing four million additional people into the income tax net by 5 April 2029 and raise an additional £44.6 billion in tax. Those plans haven’t changed.

Raising of the high-income child benefit charge from £50,000 to £60,000 is to compensate higher-earners for the fiscal drag caused by freezing personal tax allowances which will push more and more people into the higher rate tax bracket.

In 2024/25, earnings over £50,270 will be taxed at 40%.

Up until now, if one person earns over £60,000, the family have to pay back all child benefit in extra tax. Between 50,000 and 60,000, some of it - 1% for every £100 of earning between £50k - £60k.

The Chancellor is saying to higher earners, we will take more of your earnings in tax but we will let you keep more child benefit.

He also announced a consultation on child benefit rules, to apply it to collective household incomes rather than for individuals from April 2026. At the moment the rules are unfair and favour some couples.