The Budget Rumour Machine is not the shambles it was last year. Before Rachel’s Swansong all sorts of stuff was leaked to see what sort of puddle it would create.
Most damaging was ‘tax-free cash will go’ which, no surprises, is back. Most supposed to know don’t think it will happen, that pensions won’t be touched – surely certainty is needed to keep us bothering to save.
CGT, which they can frame as a fat-cats tax, is another favourite. Aligning it with income tax or simply adding gains to income would be a major shake-up but hardly an encouragement to investment in Brit Companies for Growth.
Ditching savings and dividend allowances would not affect Working People or be classed as an increase in income tax. Easy to get away with if you bung in an increase in the personal allowance for low-earners.
Inheritance Tax? Surely no more tiddling here, but, back to CGT, an end to ‘rebasing’ or wiping out gains on death is another possible.
All the above is speculation so don’t, I’d say, do anything ‘just in case’ that you might regret. As many did last time around.
