It was no surprise that the chancellor’s Budget statement focused on plans for the government to continue to pump support into the UK’s pandemic-damaged economy. For now, the government has little choice but to add to a borrowing figure this year which is the highest seen in peacetime.
But through measures such as freezing future personal allowances, exemptions and thresholds, the chancellor has begun the process of raising revenue, without breaking the government’s manifesto pledge on certain tax rates.
This was essentially a Budget of two halves; what was announced today and the government’s tax consultations later this month, which may provide more clues to how and when it intends to start balancing the books. We may need to wait a while longer, but tax changes are coming, and taking steps to manage them will remain an important part of the financial planning process.
Further analysis of the Budget will be published later today.
