A reminder that this year’s Budget will take place on Wednesday 19 March.
The CIPP Policy team will as usual be publishing a summary of the key announcements and will also be producing a webcast to discuss the implications for the payroll profession; be sure to listen in. In addition the CIPP Hot Topic events and National Forums are taking place throughout April where the Budget announcements will form part of the Policy team’s legislation update. Visit our Events Calendar for full details.
CIPP Budget 2014 Summary
19 March 2014
Introduction If you are a beer drinking pensioner who drives, has an abundance of savings and a penchant for Bingo then you will be cock-a-hoop with today’s Budget. For the second year running there will be a penny off a pint and, in response to some hard lobbying, bingo duty is to be halved to 10 per cent. “Support for savers is at the heart of this budget” said the Chancellor and we also have another freeze on fuel duty as the increase planned for September is to be cancelled. Mr Osborne certainly had plenty to say in his hour long budget speech today, but the good news for payroll professionals and employers alike is that there was no mention of any imminent new initiatives that will increase our already overloaded work plates in this tax year. Most of the relevant announcements looked to confirm what we already know, i.e. the personal allowance will increase to £10,000 from 6 April 2014 - more to follow on this in the main summary. According to Mr Osborne the current government will “fix the roof when the sun is shining to protect us from future storms” , isn’t he just the ultimate marmite man? He continued to deliver plenty of modest one liners about the how the economy is continuing to recover and that it is happening faster than forecast. If the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predictions are anything to go by, then this year, our economy will become larger than it was before the recession began 6 years ago and by 2018/19 we are to be in the black. But don’t let us become complacent as this will only happen if “current plans are adhered to” we were told; “this government are not going to jeopardise the progress made so far.” This could come with a health warning that excessive revisions appear to be unavoidable . The announcement that we are to have new £1 coins produced by 2017 caused a surprising commotion in the house. Did we miss something or is it the fact that they are to take the shape of the old ‘thrupenny bit’, thus igniting fond memories from some of the snoozing back benchers? Apparently one in thirty pound coins are now counterfeit and the cost to us is millions each year in fraud; the Chancellor did say a more resilient pound for a more resilient nation – did you see what he did there? From a man who also said, lower borrowing and less interest means less debt; well you can see why this man is the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Britain’s potholes are to receive more investment as are the damaged flood defences and of course huge investment for travel services in various regions; proof that it isn’t all about the HS2. As ever, for any insomniacs out there, the full Budget 2014 document is available should you wish to read through its 120 pages. But to keep you informed and before you decide whether that is actually a necessary use of your time, below is a summary of the highlights.
Main Budget Summary
CIPP Policy News Journal
08/04/2015, Page 38 of 521
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