Rachel Reeves’ maiden Budget saw the first-ever female chancellor make £40billion of sweeping tax rises in to plug funding gaps in the NHS and schools.
While it left many of us with something to be miserable about when it comes to our money, there were also some important dodged bullets, as Simon Lambert, Georgie Frost and Helen Crane discuss on this week’s podcast.
Among the Autumn Budget losers were landlords, investors and those who have stashed wealth in their pension, as stamp duty, capital gains tax and inheritance tax all came under the spotlight.
The attack on the middle classes was perhaps to be expected from a Government which has told us those with the broadest shoulders must bear a bigger burden.
But aside from a rise in the minimum wage and 1p off a pint, did the Budget give enough of a boost to ‘working people’ – and will changes to employers’ National Insurance Contributions indirectly hit them in the pocket anyway?
Given growth was the buzzword of the Labour election campaign, did Reeves miss an opportunity to get people excited about British industry and entrepreneurship?
We also dig into what wasn’t announced in the speech, including a not-so-fond farewell to the short-lived British Isa, and a child benefit change that could have helped single parents found itself on the scrapheap.
Changes: Rachel Reeves introduced £40bn of sweeping tax hikes in this week’s Budget