Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, delivered his second Budget to Parliament on 22 November 2017.
In every Budget there are winners and losers and Autumn Budget 2017 was no different. In his keynote speech given to MPs in the Commons, Mr Hammond signalled that he will allocate funds to ‘invest to secure a bright future for Britain’, saying the Budget is about much more than Brexit.
Under pressure to deliver a bold and positive vision of the UK’s future, Mr Hammond started the speech with an upbeat introduction to the economy, defying the expectations of more negative forecasts and promising to face challenges head on, seeking out opportunities. He laid out his plans for tax, housing and travel, but his ability to manoeuvre was limited by figures that showed large downgrades to the UK’s future path of GDP and productivity growth.
The Chancellor resisted the temptation of making major changes to the pension system to raise cash. The only notable change was that the lifetime allowance for pension savings is set to increase in line with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), rising to £1,030,000 for the tax year 2018/19. To encourage people to save adequately for their futures, he also announced that the annual allowance, a limit on the amount that can be contributed to your pension each year while still receiving tax relief, will remain at £40,000.
Personal taxes were largely left unchanged, though personal allowances and the higher tax threshold will be increased from April next year. The now annual obligatory freeze of fuel duties was delivered, but new levies on diesel cars were announced.
Want to discuss the impact of Autumn Budget 2017 on your personal or business situation?
Overall, this was not the bold, game-changing Budget that many in the Chancellor’s own party were demanding. If you would like review what action you may need to take to keep your personal and business plans on track, or if you have any further questions, please contact us.
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