Member Article

Looking ahead to tomorrow's Budget

Philip Hammond will deliver his Budget to parliament tomorrow in an attempt to recover from their election disaster earlier this year.

Looking over the news headlines there are a few key components to the Tories attempt at political recovery…

Winning over the younger generation

The popularity of Jeremy Corbyn among younger voters is very strong and the Tories have expressed concern that they’re not doing enough to attract them. It doesn’t take a political expert to see that they need to win back some of these votes and Mr Hammond may very well use this Budget to do so.

The rumours circulating express the potential for the introduction of tax breaks, with National Insurance Contributions being the most obvious.

Property

Stamp duty is likely to be addressed in some form. The most likely change could be a bid to help first time buyers or stamp duty holidays. A more radical change could potentially switch the burden onto sellers rather than the buyers.

Supporting businesses

The uncertainty around Brexit will likely initiate some reaction from the Chancellor to shout Britain is open for business. This could be potentially troubling for the Tories, as there’s fine line of fairness to be walked so they are not seen to be favouring larger businesses.

Pensions

It may be politically too risky to cut pensions tax relief for high earners and older workers. Therefore, it is more likely the annual allowance will be cut from £40,000 and tapering of contribution for higher earners may become even more aggressive.

As always, it is difficult to predict what the Chancellor has in mind this week. To keep up to date with all the latest Budget news and how it affects your business, please your eyes on www.haworths.co.uk

Mark Schofield, director at Haworths Chartered Accountants

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Haworths Chartered Accountants .