Rachel Reeves will deliver the Budget today which is expected to include tax hikes and spending cuts to the value of £40billion.
Labour has repeatedly said it will need to make tough financial decisions after inheriting “the worst set of circumstances since the Second World War” regarding finances.
At the election, Labour promised not to raise taxes on “working people” and said it would not raise VAT, income tax or National Insurance.
But there has been a lot of speculation about what the Budget could be and what taxes may be raised including Employers’ National Insurance contributions, inheritance tax, capital gains tax, pension taxation, stamp duty, non-dom tax status and fuel duty.
There have been strong indications that the Chancellor is planning to increase NI contributions paid by employers after Reeves said Labour’s election pledge related to employee payments only.
Inheritance tax, which is currently at 40 per cent, is usually paid on the value of a deceased person’s assets above £325,000.
But it is thought changes to a number of exemptions which affect how much inheritance tax people have to pay are being considered.
Capital gains tax, which is charged on the profit made from the sale of assets that have increased in value, could be increased but the Prime Minister dismissed a rise to as much as 39 per cent.
The Chancellor could also raise money by changing the way private pensions are taxed including reducing the cap on tax-free lump sums from pension pots, cutting the tax break for employers putting money into employee’s pensions or changing the system of tax relief on pension contributions.
Stamp Duty Land Tax is paid when you buy a property or land over a certain price in England and Northern Ireland.
In 2002 the rates which people started to pay was increased to £250,000 and £425,000 for first-time buyers. Th higher thresholds are only due to last until March 2025 and then they will return to the original levels. Labour has not committed to an extension.
Labour has said it wants to toughen existing plans overnon-dom tax, although these plans might be reconsidered amid worries they could bring in less money than expected.
Finally, fuel duty has not risen in more than a decade after being frozen between 2012 and 2022 and cut by 5p in March 2022.
Reeves could leave the issue until March when it will naturally expire or remove the freeze and reimpose the original 57.95p rate.
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