Last Friday the new Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a package of measures as part of a new Growth Plan, intended to get the UK back to a period of sustainable, high economic growth.
Whilst a large part of this was related to energy costs, it was also about finding those measures which have been holding back our national growth.
The Stamp Duty cut is significant and will benefit the majority of people who are looking to move into, or within, our borough. This means the couple looking to downsize in later life, or the family looking for a bigger home, will have the opportunity to do so without being penalised by the taxman and having a big bill to pay. At the time of writing there are 330 properties on Rightmove across the borough including bungalows and detached houses and, of these, more than 200 would be exempt from Stamp Duty altogether as a result of the change announced last week.
There has also been major changes to National Insurance, Corporation Tax and Income Tax, with all of these cut and the Health and Care Levy being cancelled. This has seen the NI and corporation tax increases cancelled, the new Health and Care Levy removed, and income tax cut for everyone in work – all whilst the threshold for NI has also been increased.
All of this means more money in local pockets – business and resident – to ensure people keep more of what they earn. That’s how we deal with the cost of living. It means 30 million people across our country will see a tax cut.
To put all of this into context, someone earning £30,000 will pay £400 less in tax next year and a typical family moving into a semi-detached home will save £2,500 on stamp duty and if their combined household income is £50,000, around £560 in tax.
These measures mean that everyone in work – wherever they are on the income scale – keeps more of the money they earn and gives less of it to the Treasury.
And we also saw the launch of a new Investment Zone model, to compliment the FreePorts that have been established. These will bring incentives to business to invest, set-up and grow – bringing jobs and opportunity to areas that need it. In Parliament I launched our bid for one of these zones, and have already met with the County Council and Ministers to talk through them. I’ll keep residents updated on how this progresses.
