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In what was widely expected to be Mr Hunt’s final Budget ahead of an election, speculation in the final run up focused on the trade-offs that might be required around cutting taxes and meeting both fiscal rules and spending commitments. Ultimately the Chancellor had it both ways, with some headline grabbing measures aimed at easing the tax burden on earners and families, while also introducing some tax increases to cover their costs.

In a speech punctuated by several interventions from the Deputy Speaker for order, there were some key headline items:

  • The main class 1 national insurance contribution (NIC) rate will drop from 10% to 8% from 6 April 2024, the second cut in six months.
  • The main rate of class 4 self-employed NICs will similarly reduce from 8% to 6%.
  • The high income child benefit charge (HICBC) will be reformed. The threshold increases to £60,000 from April 2024, while the rate at which the charge is levied will be halved, so that child benefit will not be fully withdrawn until an individual’s income reaches £80,000.
  • For residential property disposals, the higher rate of capital gains tax (CGT) will be cut from 28% to 24% from 6 April 2024.
  • A new UK individual savings account (ISA) will create an additional £5,000 allowance on top of the current £20,000 ISA limit.
  • The furnished holiday letting tax regime will be abolished from 6 April 2025.
  • From 1 April 2024, the VAT registration and de-registration levels will be increased to £90,000 and £88,000 respectively.
  • The non-domicile rules will be replaced with a new regime based on residence from April 2025
  • Alcohol and fuel duties are frozen.

The budget briefing can be downloaded here

The 2024/2025 tax tables can be downloaded here

We are now recruiting for a gradute apprentice in conjunction with Robert Gordon University.

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The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Shona Robison, faced some

difficult decisions in drawing up her first Budget. The Scottish Budget arrived against a backdrop of mixed UK economic news in the previous week.

Full details can be downloaded here