To be completely confused by the mini budget?

[towelhammer]

Just baffled really, how is it going to boost the economy & improve public services?

So they cut taxes on the wealthiest so there’s even less money? Where’s the logic in that?

But it isn't in ^everyone's" pockets, is it?

The poorest people won't benefit from an income tax cut. Are benefits being increased to help them pay for the increased cost of living? I thought not.

Another thing that makes no sense is scrapping the 45% tax rate but keeping the loss of personal allowance between 100k and 125k.

Someone earning between 100k and 125k effectively pays 60% tax on that £25k. A much higher rate of tax than for those earning many times more.

I also think it’s designed to put Labour on the back foot for the next election, because they’ll have to commit to some kind of tax increases and the Tories will play on that in their campaign.

good point

@MrsBennetsPoorNerves those on benefits should get an increase yes, for working people this will put a little more back in your pocket, also most people on benefits actually are in some form of employment so will also benefit from income tax cut

@RafaistheKingofClay

The people who voted tory definitely voted tory

I'm now laughing at the idea of clapping for HMRC. I'll be first in the queue. 😬👏

@RewildingAmbridge the 1% tax cut does not apply to everyone as many people are paid too little to pay tax at all. This cut will not help this group at all.

Those of you so furious about this, will you be volunteering to continue paying 20% lower rate? E mail address is right here for you.
[email protected]

Please feel free to carry on paying 20% if you think it's the right thing to do.

I think the theory is that getting rid of the top rate of tax will encourage high net worth individuals to return to live in the UK, and spend and pay tax here.

Also that those who do have money will spend it in the economy, trickling down through businesses. I'm not convinced.

And it still means single parents earning between 50 & 60k have a marginal tax rate of 60% even after today's measures. Patently unfair and high time the govt did something to even it up.

If you earn so much you can afford tax accountants to reduce your tax liability from 45% you'll do exactly the same for a 40% rate, many people on very large incomes are not PAYE.

Agree, the TH for the 40% rate is too low, should be around 65k.

Yes should have done more on pensions etc.

BUT your missing the point of this budget, its about making the rich richer and nothing to do with fairness or righting wrongs, they know they are on the way out and are acting accordingly.

It's very well proven that widely available, cheap childcare works wonders for the economy.

In Canada they get 4-9 times the return on the investment.

Yet the government just seems to acknowledge this.

Stimulating productivity is a good objective. But the approach and timing are just messed up and incoherent. With known bad consequences for disadvantaged parts of the country and poorer communities.

The worst aspect of all this is that she has pivoted away from levelling up communities that fell behind as a direct consequence of these Thatcherite policies in the 1980’s. She is stimulating the finance and banking sectors which favour London and the south east. The part of the country with the broadest shoulders and highest incomes.

No; it's a cut from 45% to 40% for earnings over £150k. Rather than a cut from 40% to 20%, that jump remains the same.

This mini budget is a response to spot the rot caused by 25 years of mismanagement of the economy. Here are the lowlights of that mismanagement -

Tax credits introduced by labour government to subsidize low pay and keep wages at the bottom suppressed. Which keeps wages all the way up the pay scale suppressed. It also causes low productivity. Why would employers invest in raising productivity when they can get cheap labour subsidized by the taxpayer.

Refusal by labour and successive Tory governments to invest in any major infrastructure projects. For instance the third runway at Heathrow.

Refusal by successive government to invest in home grown energy, nuclear and gas.

Printing more money to pay for Covid lockdowns than had been printed between 2008 and 2020.

The low wages and low productivity in this are grinding down the economy. And the disastrous lockdowns just brought things to breaking point. All the measures announced today will be a sticking plaster.

The real work would require even more unpopular choices. Green lighting double digits nuclear power plants, Raising minimum wage to at least £15, raising personal allowance to £15k, reducing, corporation tax to 12%, restructuring the NHS, further tax breaks for privately funded infrastructure projects above a certain amount, approve 3rd runway at Heathrow. This would be painful in the short term, but money doesn’t grow on trees, even it is the proverbial magic one. You either print it (we all know how that went), borrow it, or make and sell stuff at better margins than your competitors.

This is so true. And another reason why investing in childcare would have been a more sensible idea.

Why would people who have decided to leave the UK want to return to a country facing economic collapse?
They have a life overseas and tax accountants to ensure a far lower rate than even 40%.

The capital markets, at the moment, have lost faith in the UK being able to pay its debts, 10 yr govt bond yields are through the roof.

Not if they earn under the threshold for income tax, which many do - especially those employed in the gig economy, on zero hour contracts etc.

When you say that people on benefits "should get an increase", what does that mean exactly? Are you saying that you agree that this should have been in the budget but wasn't? Or are you saying that they will get an increase that I have somehow overlooked?

It won't help many people as any extra pounds will need to be spent on groceries petrol utilities and many things have now really shot up in price. Clothing shoes everything is costing so much more.

It’s absolutely terrifyingly self-serving of the Tory party and will break what little faith most of us have left in politicians to treat people fairly.

Most adults I know are worried sick about bills and eating and keeping warm enough to get through the winter. While our government just supports its rich mates. It’s disgusting.

Interesting POV that they are giving wealthy people money. Do you come from the standpoint that all money is the property of the state to dish out? Because unless you do I haven’t seen anything today that involves the state giving people money, all it is doing is reducing the amount of money that it takes from some people.

@DesdemonaThreethree and @drunkinthebackofthecar I agree the attitude to the nhs is odd, but there are important benefits:

1. A shared culture of valuing health and public service. Contributes to social cohesion and a willingness to do things like pay tax
2. People working in the nhs see it as a valuable public duty and therefore give huge amounts of their time free. They also give a part of themselves to patients in compassion etc - workers in the dvla don’t need to do this.

In many ways being valued socially makes up for a lot of issues with poor pay and conditions, although now both have been eroded so much that staff goodwill is vanishing.

Absolutely. And it should be remembered that a 'streamlined' public sector is what the British public has been voting for since 2010. People have got what they asked for. Only now has the penny dropped on what austerity really meant.

@sst1234 If your correct about the mini budget, the markets would want to put money into the UK, they aren't they are doing the opposite.

WTC introduced by Labour was just a name change for various types on income support, first introduced in 1972 under Heath.

KK has done nothing to increase investment in UK plc, instead its just one of the largest tax cutting budgets ever seen, no requirement to invest and totally un costed.

We are heading for hi inflation and interest rates.

Perhaps the aspirational prunes who normally vote Tory will now realise they aren't a member of their 'club' if they aren't earning £150,000+ you're just another pleb to be trod on.