Was the Budget too little, too late
Jeremy Hunt bounced around delivering his Budget, proudly declaring his commitment to tax cuts and supporting working families.
Another 2p was chopped off National Insurance and the threshold at which child benefit is removed was raised from £50,000 to £60,000.
But you don’t need to be a financial expert to know that the Chancellor’s version of events isn’t quite the whole story.
Because Mr Hunt is also presiding over a long-term stealth tax freeze to thresholds that is costing workers dear and his child benefit move merely kicked sky-high marginal tax rates down the road, rather than getting rid of them altogether.
Nonetheless, a tax cut and an extra £5,000 Isa allowance – even if it’s a slightly iffy, limited one – is not to be sniffed at.
So, was this an escape velocity Budget that puts Britain back on the path to growth?
Or was it too little, too late, from a Tory party that has sported successive Chancellors who have been keener to raise our taxes by hook or by crook rather than cut them – or even just keep thresholds in line with inflation.
On this week’s Budget special This is Money podcast, Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert look at the winners and losers and go searching for the devils in the detail.
What is the NI cut worth to you? Will you get some child benefit back? Did pensioners deserve a tax cut too? With a failure to reverse his capital gains and dividend tax raid, what has the Chancellor got against small investors?
And will the British Isa be any good?
All that and more – plus a look at why Nationwide is buying Virgin Money and whether that’s good or bad for us all.
Related articles
Ben Whishaw lights up the Croisette as he joins his co
Ben Whishaw was all smiles at the world premiere of Limonov: The Ballad at the 77th annual Cannes Fi2024-05-22Israeli officials concerned about possible ICC arrest warrants as pressure mounts over war in Gaza
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli officials appeared increasingly concerned that the International Criminal C2024-05-22- Zhao Leji, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Chin2024-05-22
Jelly Roll rocks the stage during his Stagecoach debut and invites T
Jelly Roll rocked the stage on Friday night at the Stagecoach Festival.The singer, 39, who appeared2024-05-22Tourism boosts China's social, economic development
BEIJING, May 17 (Xinhua) -- China's tourism sector has witnessed a notable boom, greatly facilitatin2024-05-22Xi meets US secretary of state
Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Great Hall of2024-05-22
atest comment