The Budget contained a range of personal taxation, childcare and residential property measures.
On child benefit, Tracey Watts, tax partner at Albert Goodman accountants, pictured, said while the immediate increase in the threshold from £50,000 to £60,000, over which child benefit claims are withdrawn, was welcomed, the proposed consultation with HMRC to work out how the higher earner can be replaced with the household’s income, is not.
“This threatens to bring in many more couples into having their child benefit claims reduced,” she said.
Reacting to the absence of changes to Inheritance Tax, Albert Goodman assistant tax manager Kayleigh Oaten said: “For those hoping for a simplification, reduction in rates, or even abolishment of inheritance tax, there was nothing.
“Perhaps something to look out for in the Conservative manifesto but a hardening of the rules is perhaps more likely under a future Labour government.
Kathryn Loader, an assistant tax manager at the firm, said abolishing furnished holiday let rules would mean holiday let owners will no longer benefit from capital allowances on their holiday properties.
“Equally, they will no longer benefit from the lower rates of Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on the sale of their holiday let properties, instead being taxed at the normal rates for residential properties 18%/28% – although the higher rate of CGT will be reduced to 24% as announced in the Budget,” she added.
James Berry, CEO of Great Western Credit Union, which has more than 19,000 members, said the widely trailed 2p cut in national insurance would help people in work but id not offset the freezing of the personal allowance for many.
“Overall incomes will be the same as they were in 2019 – five years of no increase in people’s standard of living,” he added.
“Meanwhile public services that so many rely on have been forced to do the best they can with less and less real funding.
“There is some relief for some of our members in the change to the repayment rate for loans from Universal Credit which has been doubled, reducing the amount deducted each month for Universal Credit loans, although at the cost of the repayments lasting for much longer.
“Likewise making Debt Relief Orders free will help many low income households with problem debts to get the support they need.”
He described the new British ISA as “an interesting idea”, but as it can only be invested in equities, it was unlikely to be of interest to many who value cash savings.
“Finally the government generously ‘guaranteed’ the rates to be paid for childcare providers to support the roll out of free childcare, but those rates are widely acknowledged to be too low for many providers, leaving many struggling and more closing all the time,” he added.
