Hunt confirms 2p cut in national insurance, claiming average personal taxes now at lowest level since 1975
Hunt is now talking about national insurance.
From April employee national insurance will be cut from 10% to 8%, and self-employed NICS from 8% to 6%.
He says, combined with the changes announced in the autumn statement, 27 million people will gain £900. And 2 million self-employed people will gain £650.
He says the OBR says this will put 200,000 more people in work. And it will increase GDP by 0.4%, he says.
He says this will bring personal taxes to their lowest level since 1975.
And he says the Conservatives will continue to keep cutting national insurance.
(There is a big difference between personal taxes and the overall tax burden. In 1975 VAT had only just been introduced, and it was levied at 10%. It is double that rate now.)
Key events
Here is the Treasury’s news release about the budget.
Budget debate held up after SNP MPs force surprise vote on its provisions
Eleanor Laing, the deputy speaker, is now calling a vote on certain budget measures (taxes that come into force tonight) that have to go through as soon as the budget speech is over. Normally this is down by acclamation (government MPs shouting aye), so that the Commons can get on with listening to the opposition’s response. But some MPs have forced a division (by shouting no), and there is a vote.
It seems to have been the SNP who were forcing a division.
After the speaker ignored Commons rules in a way that led to MPs not getting a vote on their Gaza motion last month, they have been talking about using more disruptive tactics at Westminster.
The division will take about 15 minutes, and then Keir Starmer will get a chance to respond to the budget.
Hunt confirms 2p cut in national insurance, claiming average personal taxes now at lowest level since 1975
Hunt is now talking about national insurance.
From April employee national insurance will be cut from 10% to 8%, and self-employed NICS from 8% to 6%.
He says, combined with the changes announced in the autumn statement, 27 million people will gain £900. And 2 million self-employed people will gain £650.
He says the OBR says this will put 200,000 more people in work. And it will increase GDP by 0.4%, he says.
He says this will bring personal taxes to their lowest level since 1975.
And he says the Conservatives will continue to keep cutting national insurance.
(There is a big difference between personal taxes and the overall tax burden. In 1975 VAT had only just been introduced, and it was levied at 10%. It is double that rate now.)
Hunt says 500,00 families will gain almost £1,300 from increase in high income threshold for child benefit
Hunt says he will change the way child benefit is paid.
At the moment the high income threshold applies to individuals, not households. That will change, he says.
And he says he is also increasing the higher income threshold. It will go up from £50,000 to £60,000.
He claims that almost half a million families will gain by almost £1,300.
We’re increasing the threshold at which parents start paying the High Income Child Benefit Charge, from £50,000 to £60,000.
Making almost half a million families better off by an average of almost £1300 per household. pic.twitter.com/GkFPO0va7p
— HM Treasury (@hmtreasury) March 6, 2024
Hunt’s decision to abolish non-dom status means Labour need to find another way to provide extra funding for the NHS (as Hunt says he is using the money to cut taxes for working people), points out Sky’s News’s Sophie Ridge.
Jeremy Hunt confirms the Gvt will abolish the current tax system for non doms
Which means Labour needs to find another way of paying for extra investment in the NHS https://t.co/izQWwjmPYN
— Sophy Ridge (@SophyRidgeSky) March 6, 2024
Hunt says he will raise £2.7bn by abolishing non-dom status
Hunt is now talking about abolishing non-dom status.
He claims Labour was only interested in this because it was a plan Nigel Lawson originally favoured.
He confirms that he will abolish non-dom status. This provokes lots of jeering. Hunt says he aims to please all sides of the house. Eleanor Laing, the deputy speaker, urges MPs to “shout more quietly”.
Hunt says there will be a non-dom-style tax status open to people coming to the UK for four years. But after that they will have to pay UK taxes.
Hunt says this will raise £2.7bn by end of forecast period. Unlike Labour, the Tories will use this to cut taxes, he says.
Hunt says he will raise £1.5bn by extending windfall tax on energy companies
Hunt says energy companies. Their profits are extending because of the Ukraine war, so Hunt says he will extend the sunset clause in the windfall tax for an additional year, to 2029, raising £1.5bn.
Hunt turns to multiple dwellings relief, and jokes that this will interest Angela Rayner.
He is abolishing this, he says.
And he says the Treasury and the OBR are both saying the government will raise more money be reducing the higher rate of property capital gains tax from 28% to 24%. The Treasury and the OBR have discovered “their inner Laffer curve”.
“That really is for you, Angela,” he says.
Hunt says tax relief for holiday lettings will end
Hunt says he has been lobbied by MPs representing coastal towns. The tax system for holiday lettings is not working, he says. So he will abolish the furnished holiday lettings relief, he says.
Hunt confirms new tax on vapes
Hunt confirms a new tax on vapes.
And there will be a one-off increase in tobacco duties.
There will be an increase in the tax on non-economy flights, he says.
