The Budget 6th March 2024
I’ve been doing Budget reactions for over 20 years now and there was a time when I’d try to work on a pithy summary - “this is a Budget for van drivers who drink cider and eat pasties” or “this is a budget for small business owners who own a caravan and want to go to the theatre”. You get the idea.
But it is difficult to see who exactly this budget is for. A reduction in employee NIC is welcome as are changes to taxing Child Benefit and the sale of let properties but the hidden cost of the ‘fiscal drag’ of tax allowances and bands being frozen probably means most of us will pay more tax.
The ‘devil is in the detail’ as a wise person once said and there may be as yet unannounced changes that affect us (did you know the introduction of IR35 wasn’t mentioned in the Budget at that time?) and if there are any hidden unpleasant surprises, I’ll be working on digging those out over the next few days.
Meantime our Budget Summary provides some feedback and explanation of the announced changes. The summary can be downloaded using the link below
the Budget Summary Summary
Full details are in the downloadable PDF but perhaps the headlines are
A further reduction in Employee NIC to 8%
The income threshold above which Child Benefit is clawed back will rise to £60,000 in 2024/25, and the clawback will be spread over £20,000 of income.
The higher rate of CGT payable on disposals of residential property will fall from 28% to 24% for disposals from 6 April 2024
The beneficial treatment of short-term Furnished Holiday Lettings as a trade for tax purposes will be abolished from 6 April 2025
The advantageous treatment of non-UK domiciled individuals (‘non-Doms’) will be abolished from 6 April 2025, and will be replaced by a residence-based system.
Budget Trivia
The longest Budget speech ever delivered was by William Gladstone on 18 April, 1853, lasting four hours and 45 minutes.
The longest term as chancellor was Gordon Brown's, who spent 10 years and two months as head of the Treasury.
Delivering the budget is the only time alcohol is allowed in the chamber of the House of Commons, though the last chancellor to avail himself was Kenneth Clarke, who downed a whisky as he announced a 4 per cent drop in price for spirits.
Robert Lowe MP, who was chancellor between 1868 and 1873, described the role of Chancellor as… “He is entrusted with a certain amount of misery which it is his duty to distribute as fairly as he can.”
In his 1953 Budget Chancellor RA Butler announced that the sugar ration would be increased from 10oz to 12oz a week. The reason? To help the nation make celebratory cakes for the Queen's Coronation that year.
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