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.

Maybe they will repeal Brexit. That'd save a ton and encourage investment again wouldn't it?

Before anyone points out that this won't and can't happen, I know this but I continue to live in naive hope about lots of things! And the comment was tongue in cheek, since it can't be anything else.

Every budget is hyped up by all sides, some positive some negative. I will wait and see. Nothing much I can do about the decisions made anyway, the Government is in charge.

Is that because being paid in dividends is a tax loophole? It certainly was when my DH had a limited company many years ago and paid himself in dividends. I've known many people do this over the years.

All the main rumours seem to have been ruled out, so we may be breathing a sigh of relief come Wednesday afternoon!

I think they're being very shortsighted. They've already lost a lot of pensioner's votes. If they increase taxes for business owners and working people they're basically left with the unemployed and young who are left unaffected - the groups least likely to vote.

Either can the poster above by all counts.

Boggling.

So how do they raise money without doing any of this? From the "magic money tree"?

I mean as a general rule Labour never had much of the grey vote anyway so ....

@BIossomtoes clears the poster is saying that the extra money gained from raising inheritance tax can be put towards paying the social services budget. I wasn't that difficult to understand

Just saying it's all pointless if they don't get another term which will leave more appetite for extremism.

They never had most pensioners’ votes and they certainly haven’t lost mine, it would take A LOT more than £150 to do that.

It's perfectly legal to be a shareholder in a company.

My objection is the use of the phrase 'working people'. Lots of people work very hard and are shareholders, many companies give shares to reward long service.

Using the phrase 'working people' in the way Starmer did to avoid explaining exactly who would be impacted by tax increases prior to the election ,was trying to be clever / mince words. Or do you think that he is right that those who receive dividends, for what ever reason, are not really working people?

As I said up thread he's getting a bit of a track record for not knowing the meaning of commonly used words, another example is woman.

This

Im dreading Wednesday, I’m responsible for 30 people’s rent/mortgages.
we are doing very well this year and you want to reward loyal and hard working staff. But how, when it’s going to cost be 15% on top in tax plus pensions and the added red tape of last week’s announcement.
But according to this Government, I’m part of the problem ?
I work 14 hour days 6 days a week to make a profit and invest in my staff and business in a brutally tough industry and I still clean the staff toilets.

and no I’m not coining it in, as much as possible is reinvesting in facilities, and also improving staff facilities and environment.

Google MPs expenses its all there

@JaneEyreLaughing you are literally having a laugh. Far left indeed. Hilarious!

There's a lot of anger amongst pensioners, particularly those who've voted Labour for years- (who also are usually low income) this is seen as a big betrayal and won't be forgotten.

Time is going to tell on whether the leaked stories are disinformation. Let’s come back to this post budget.

Well it's because he's tying himself in knots.

He doesn't want to appear unpopular by saying he is taxing "working people" because most people identify "working people" with the working poor, the very subsection of society that Labour should be protecting.

But working people are literally the only people who you can tax to raise the amounts necessary to make a meaningful difference to the nations finances.

And whether they are on 20K or 200K, paying dividends or taking their whole salary as PAYE they are still "working people".

So he's got himself basically into a right mess.

Social care is a big issue isn’t it. Thats a huge bill.

But how do you “fix” it. Same as the few SEN children who have to as it’s the only place they can attended are basically private boarding or non boarding schools fully funded. It’s huge costs.

But these things are needed. But people can’t just be taxed and taxed and taxed higher and higher because what happens when they can no longer afford anything. Taxes up, food up, rent up, energy up, costs of getting to work up. Everything but wages going up.

He just doesn't seem terribly good with telling the truth, which is not a good look for a prime minister imo.

@lifeturnsonadime no I'm not saying that. I'm aware that it's legal and that those many getting dividends are working. But closing these legal loopholes is something that has been discussed for years. Why can't those working people be taxed in the same way as all the other working people? If a small business owner earns over the basic or higher tax threshold, how is it fair that they can reduce that burden by taking some of their income in dividends?
If I worked full time I'd be into the higher tax band. I'm PAYE so I have to pay tax.
Someone earning on paper the same yearly salary could push themselves back down into the basic rate by paying dividends.
Why should their tax burden be lower than mine?

Obviously some are probably true, like CGT and IHT changes and continued freeze on thresholds, but others are just scaremongering, like the council tax discount one. VAT on children's clothes also seems unlikely.

Eta: @Cartwrightandson never bothered to come back to their thread, so that is a bit 🧐

He’s a lot better at it than Johnson was.

If it was me I wouldn't of promised not to tax income any more, but here we are.

NHS England is developing a 10 year NHS plan. You can even contribute your views if you wish

Another one? There is already one. And a digital plan and a mental health plan. The trouble is the plans always come up with the same conclusions which never get implemented.

Well to be honest they can.

I see plenty of beamers and audis on the roads. People don't need those. They don't need foreign holidays and skiing, they don't need horses and they don't need 5 TV subscriptions or football season tickets either.

There is plenty of scope for taxing people in the UK more. What there probably isn't much scope for is taxing them more without impacting their comfortable lifestyles.