Nervous/anxious/scared about the Autumn budget 2024

[Cartwrightandson]

I know that we don't know any details. We have read or heard bits that might be incorrect or just plain wrong. I also know we won't know anything until Wednesday when Rachel Reeves publishes/announces the contents of the budget...

But what we do know...it's the first labour budget for over 14 years, we've had a conservative government, austerity, brexit, covid and cost of living/interest rate increase meaning our economy is not in a good place.

Our services/infrastructure haven't had much needed investment for a long time.
Councils are practically bankrupt, some already are. Schools, housing, NHS, social care and economy are all struggling..to remedy this requires money and this will need to come from higher taxes.

There's a 19 billion pound black hole and Labour have already removed the winter fuel allowance, showing they are willing do things that are unpopular or possibly controversial..the Labour manifesto said it wouldn't increase taxes, but now they are saying they have to.

They've already allocated money for Ukraine, teachers, train drivers, junior doctors, NHS staff ect

Keir said people who don't 'work' for their income (shares/savings/landlord income) aren't classed as working people and will be taxed..

Basically this budget is going to need to raise taxes to pay for investment in services. That much we do know. But where the cuts and the tax increase will be is unknown. I don't think anyone will be 'better off'...

Possibilities.. (note these are not absolute, I could be very wrong)

Inheritance tax changes
Fuel duty increase
Income tax increase
Social housing rent increase
Benefit cuts
No free universal prescription for over 60s
Change to tax free allowance
Removal of help to buy, right to buy and alterations to stamp duty
Pension age to increase
State pension to decrease?
Tuition fees to increase
Tax free pension allowance to be reduced
Isa/bond/shares/investments taxed

Who really knows...but I think the labour comms are possibly leaking information so that we are being drip fed so when the budget does happen we already know and are braced/prepared for it.

Or what is being leaked about the budget is really bad but when the budget happens we are relieved it wasn't as bad the leaks hinted at. But it is still painful but we are more accepting because it's not as bad as it could have been...if that makes sense.

Nervous anxious and scared over a labour budget?
JC get a life!
A slight increase in the tax you pay on interest of saving over a certain amount? Oooh spooky, maybe it’s a Halloween trick.

They should start with Ukraine and the foreign aid budget.

Far too much foreign aid gets pissed up the wall by corrupt governments and the people it’s intended for never even get to see it.

Frankly the idea that billions is being given to Ukraine while people here are being expected to lose out to the tune of those billions is disgraceful.

Charity begins at home as they say.

High time we started looking after our own rather than sending so much money abroad.

I’m willing to bet inheritance tax and capital gains tax etc. will increase. Does anyone know when the VAT for private schools will be applied?

1st Jan

No point worrying – it is what it is. Labour have always said they wouldn't increase income tax and national insurance on employees – and they are still saying that now. Not raising tax at all has never been claimed. All also haven't removed winter fuel allowance, they have ensured it will be means tested. The nuance matters here.

The people who accused Labour of thinking there was a magic money tree are now shitting themselves because Labour know there's no magic money tree.

The bus fare cap is rising from £2-3 according to BBC news

Means testing anything is expensive to set up and administer, which is why there was a blanket rule for the winter fuel payments.

The Tories only ever intended the £2 bus fare cap to last until the end of this year.

It cost the country £200 million pounds between January and October 2023.

Never has a budget been preceded by so much panic and speculation whipped up by the media. It's absolutely ridiculous and people need to stop falling for it.

Is anyone in a panic over the proposed extra spend on schools and hospitals? The increase in house building ? You can’t have one without the other. I know which I’d rather have.

To be fair it was due to end in December. So actually while it is rising, it's also an unexpected continuation of the cap.

Ukraine though, we are only giving money to Ukraine as them having firepower protects us. They are shielding us. Looks like Trump is going to get in, and he doesn’t give a shit about Europe. If Putin has decided he wants to pick off European countries it could be us he gets to at some stage. Don’t you think it’s better that we help Ukraine out now? We aren’t giving them lots of equipment out of the goodness of our heart, we really aren’t!

The Daily Mail has been an absolute joke with their constant Labour rubbishing headlines. The hysterics and nonsense they've spouted, including from their 'columnist' Boris Johnson, has shown them to be the hyperbolic snowflakes and remoaners they've been busy denegrating this last 10 years.

That's been proposed for years, in fact it was an option for housing associations for a while but it was so complex to administer that very few managed it. It sounds nice as a headline but unlikely to come in.

Social rents continuing to go up by CPI plus 1-2% per year seems most likely, which is where it's been for a while anyway.

I realise I'm very fortunate and have paid off my mortgage so feel OK about paying more tax, IF we as a country get the economic growth we need and there is investment in public infrastructure and services.

I think I would like to know how they intend to spend the money.

Less on EDI projects and more on actual health care and education would be good.

So much waste already, imagine a group of nurses having to sue the NHS trust they work for because they don't take seriously the fact that they are subject to voyeurism at work because the man involved says he's a woman.

Yep, tax cuts

I agree with this!

no point worrying I am just accepting its an inevitability when you have a Labour government. I just dont think increasing spending on schools and hospitals is the right thing to do. we have been throwing money at them for years and they have got worse because the extra money, the extra resources arent tied to anything are they. I dont want more money spent here I really, really dont. But I know that Labour think we will all be saying oh good an extra x million to health but will we? the idea that someone who runs a property business isnt a working person but someone on benefits who doesnt work is, is just completely bonkers. I am counting down the days to the next election personally.

1753 days and counting!

Well we had to renew our mortgage deal days after the Truss/Kwarteng budget. So...... still paying for that one.

Well, as we have been worse off after every single budget since the 1990's, I expect no less this time. Over the years we lost: mortgage tax relief, married persons allowance, child benefit. As a single earning, higher paid family, we were always going to be screwed.

Never mind.... DH has retired early, we now have zero income, the juice is no longer worth the squeeze, as they say. Lots and lots of his cohort are doing the same.

I think it’s pretty much universally accepted that it wont be the 1st of January because of the logistics surrounding the implementation of VAT rules.

The accepted period for that now seems to be September of next year. <not interested in the private school VAT debate>, this is about logistics rather than that.

@KnittedCardi Your husband retired early with no pension or investment income?

It's far cheaper than going to war with Russia ourselves.