From 12:30pm tomorrow Chancellor George Osborne will be delivering the final Budget of the current Parliament before the May General Election. From the state of the economy to taxation changes, we can expect a lot of politically orientated gestures.
Voters will obviously be a target, much like the Autumn Statement delivered four months ago, with provisions made for the Conservative core - like the ability to sell annuities starting from 2016, wooing the older voters. On the same footing, unappealing things for the voting core - like spending, borrowing, public sector wage increases probably won't make an appearance. The Government have though announced an increase of twenty pence to the national minimum wage from October - to become £6.70 - the largest increase in seven years.
So, what can we expect? The chancellor stated there will be no 'giveaways, no gimmicks' but we're not so sure - below are our predictions:
- A further increase to the personal tax allowance to £11,000 from the currently announced £10,600 or maybe a relaxation on the point at which higher rate taxes kick in - either a possibility. David Cameron did make a pledge to eventually raise the forty pence higher rate band to £50,000; it is currently around £42,000 if the personal allowance is included.
- Increase to the entry point at which National Insurance Contributions must be made - at present the Class 1 NIC's that PAYE employees have deducted are set at 12 per cent from gross incomes. However, this threshold is over £2,000 before basic tax is deducted.
- Expect more talk on devolution of tax powers to Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
- A new tobacco levy to clamp down on smoking.
- Increased powers to eradicate tax avoidance - over and above what has already been granted to HMRC.
- Transferring ISAs to anyone - regardless of relationship and free of tax.
- Allowance of ISAs as wrappers for peer-to-peer lending schemes, such as Zopa.
- A further increase of the ISA limit?
- Capital gains tax being extended to apply to primary residences where the value is north of £2 million.
- Raise inheritance tax threshold on properties to £1 million.
Whatever happens keep clued in by following right here or via twitter @uktaxcalculator or hashtags #Budget15 or #Budget2015. We have already updated our website and app for the 2015/2016 tax year in preparation and our 2015 Budget Calculator at our sister site Walleto is ready to go! - see the other calculators option in the menu above.