Chancellor’s spring statement

[Cheesecakeandwineinasuitcase]

AIBU to think that today we are about to be hugely disappointed by what Rishi says in his spring statement and just to realise just how out of touch he is with the grim reality that normal people (I.e. not millionaire politicians) in the Uk face?

My prediction is that he won’t back down on the 1.25% increase in NI contributions that he is making people pay from April. There will be a paltry reduction in fuel duty (maybe a few pence if we are lucky - but that will easily be cancelled out within a few days as prices increase to compensate). Maybe he will reduce the duty on champagne this time or some other gimmicky sweetener (wasn’t it Prosecco last time?). He might raise the threshold from which people have to start paying tax but for most working families that won’t make a jot of difference.

So it feels like we are sitting ducks and that as time goes by more and more people end up really struggling.

Yabu to say he doesn't realise and is out of touch. He doesn't care. The party doesn't care. Their function these days is to protect the rich as much as possible while still maintaining power.

@RafaIstheKingofClay

Why do people always trot out the US system? What about the systems in the dozens of other developed countries who have insurance based systems?

Don’t many of those governments in countries with insurance based systems also pay more or a greater % of GDP for their healthcare systems than the U.K. pays for the NHS? Or at least that was the issue in the past.

Marginally. Mainly paid by the richer people paying far more into the pot. Poorer people would still get everything for free. And the health outcomes in such countries are far, far superior than those from the NHS. Lower death rates from cancer, heart disease, better preventative care, much shorter waiting times, decent conditions in hospitals with private rooms for patients, etc.

What do you expect him to do.
The UK has high levels of debt.
There’s not a magic money tree. Printing more money = greater inflation (it’s already high).

The Government can’t afford to bail out people anymore. We generally had a good Keynesian approach during lockdowns, but it is unsustainable.

@yossell

Yabu to say he doesn't realise and is out of touch. He doesn't care. The party doesn't care. Their function these days is to protect the rich as much as possible while still maintaining power.

Yep. It is every person for themselves and if you can't afford to boil your spuds, tough shit.

@lovescats3

Of course sunak knows he's penalising the poor he's not stupid he's a Tory and they have never cared about the poor

Exactly right.

This will hit middle income people as well, hugely.

@deadlanguage

He should have targeted energy costs rather than petrol. Not everyone has a car, particularly the very poorest in society. There was a story in the news today about people not being able to afford to boil potatoes ffs.

Agreed - the fuel duty cut is a sop to the Road Haulage and Farming lobbies who are mainly Tory voters/supporters.

@Lifeisaminestrone

What do you expect him to do. The UK has high levels of debt. There’s not a magic money tree. Printing more money = greater inflation (it’s already high).

The Government can’t afford to bail out people anymore. We generally had a good Keynesian approach during lockdowns, but it is unsustainable.

The government always has plenty of money to give to their mates. The magic money tree bollocks was instantly disproved when Teresa May actually found the tree and gave the DUP 1 billion of its "leaves".

The Government can’t afford to bail out people anymore.
They could piss it if they wanted to but they are in power to ensure rich people don't lose out.

@Unhomme

Maybe you could take in some ironing?

No one is going to be able afford the electricity needed to use an iron.

@Lifeisaminestrone a windfall tax on oil companies perhaps? Claw back some of the furlough payments to those who pay company dividends. To give two examples.

The Government can’t afford to bail out people anymore

Of course it can. We were told there was no magic money tree but Sunak found a forest of them when Covid came along. The government could help people through this crisis if it wanted to. Remember bailing out the banks in 2008?

@balalake

Most FTSE Companies repaid furlough monies if they significantly paid a dividend.
Corporation tax is rising to 25%.
We need to remain competitive for companies to stay in the UK.

Significantly = subsequently

@Dinorawr22 well this is what Martin Lewis said:

'This is the big one. Incresaing the National Insurance threshold so it now matches Income tax from July.

That £3,000 rise of threshold to £12,570 is a gain of £330 a year

And more than offsets the 1% rise for many on lower incomes. Good call

#SpringStatement2022'

Not having a stroke.

Why do people always trot out the US system? What about the systems in the dozens of other developed countries who have insurance based systems?

Because this government has shown no interest in a system similar to, say, the Netherlands. The US system is their Holy Grail.

Read Britannia Unchained (co-written by, among others, the current Home and Foreign Secretaries) if you don't believe me.

The magic money tree would have more leaves if the government made sure their friends and big business paid fair taxes instead of dodging. For a start they could do something about the eye watering profit made by BG while we all foot the bill.

[quote poshme]@Dinorawr22 well this is what Martin Lewis said:

'This is the big one. Incresaing the National Insurance threshold so it now matches Income tax from July.

That £3,000 rise of threshold to £12,570 is a gain of £330 a year

And more than offsets the 1% rise for many on lower incomes. Good call

#SpringStatement2022'

Not having a stroke. [/quote]
I know it was a tongue in cheek comment. Surely that was obvious?

A lot of people didn't receive any furlough or government money at all during the pandemic I think it was a figure of three million people or something like this who slipped through the nets to be able to claim any money.
I remember lbc having many people ringing up saying they was not entitled to anything because of one reason or another , it wasn't very straight forwards.
They will still be expected to pay higher taxes now though.

[quote balalake]@Lifeisaminestrone a windfall tax on oil companies perhaps? Claw back some of the furlough payments to those who pay company dividends. To give two examples.[/quote]
How about clawing back furlough to those who received furlough from their main job, but got second jobs as well, so got two incomes for working just one job!

[quote Lifeisaminestrone]@balalake

Most FTSE Companies repaid furlough monies if they significantly paid a dividend.
Corporation tax is rising to 25%.
We need to remain competitive for companies to stay in the UK.[/quote]
It was more that those companies continued to operate and make higher than expected profits due to higher demand, i.e. supermarkets, etc., so there was pressure for businesses with higher profits to repay the covid support they received but clearly didn't need.

For small limited companies (single person companies), they were only eligible for furlough to the extent that they weren't working. So if they got full furlough, their businesses weren't operating - simple as that. (After the first few months, they could claim partial furlough if they were working part time, i.e. half furlough if only working half normal hours).

Hopefully by reducing fuel tax, it will help to stop prices of everything rising by quite so much.

Incredibly naive. In reality, reduced costs simply mean greater profits.

@LizDoingTheCanCan

Hopefully by reducing fuel tax, it will help to stop prices of everything rising by quite so much.

Incredibly naive. In reality, reduced costs simply mean greater profits.

Depends on elasticity of demand. If people simply can't afford higher prices, then suppliers will sell less, hence lower profits.

If suppliers could sell at higher prices, why didn't they do it last year or the year before, or 5 years ago, if they though demand wouldn't be affected?

Magic money tree

£37bn Test & Trace
£11.8bn in Covid fraud written off
£8.7bn PPE wasted

OBR

"The rise in inflation to a 40-year high this year is expected to [result in] the biggest fall in living standards in any single financial yr since ONS records began in 1956-57"

@ElizabethG81

A quick calculation tells me I'll be £320 pa worse off due to the NI rise in April, and then this increase in the threshold will save me £360 pa. What's the point?

It means that the lowest paid don't have to pay it at all.