There were months of rumours before the final (who knew?) Rachel Budget last year. The problem was that most were allowed to rumble on and do their worst – in particular that pension tax-free cash was to go, which many, despite our moderating advice, chose to heed. It’s said that Reeves and Starmer asked the Treasury for a list of stuff they could do around the edges, avoiding Taxes on Working People. So we had IHT on pensions, farms and businesses, employer NI and much other unpopular, complex-to-collect and not-worth-the-bother tiddling; and a still-more ridiculously intricate tax system. The Burn has promised to be bold and my bets are on CGT combined with income tax, a property/wealth tax and the top rate up from 45% to 50% – on the basis that no Hard Working People earn more than £125k – as the headliners. But based on my prediction track record to date, none of those will happen. So don’t panic.
Budget Rumours and Possibilities
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.
