The Budget 2025

MolteniArcore said:
As the media have been running with this for the last 4 months I thought I would have my 10 pence worth!

Sick of the coverage TBH but I am looking forward to seeing what is actually in it. It could be a real turning point for the country. Get some proper investment in and hopefully improve the NHS.

Some good things have been leaked so far:

- Extension of the bus ticket cap beyond the end of the year, despite it going up, will still save people money.
- Minimum wage going up
- Non dom status ends
- Triple lock stays
- Capital gains tax going up
- VAT on private school fees
- Inheritance tax change??
- PAYE and NI not going up

I wonder what rabbit she will pull out of the bag too - she must have one… surely!!!
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Someone bitching on the news that the bus fare increase would affect poor pensioners - that’s right the ones with the free bus passes 🙄 I’ve just got back from the lakes and when I’m there I use the busses all of the time just because it’s so cheap.

Also I thought they’d backed off scrapping non-dom because it wouldn’t really raise any money?
 
northernrower said:
Increasing employer NI is going to have negative implications for consumers in my opinion, as those hikes will just be passed on.
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This is the one I don't think has been thought through - will result either in higher costs to consumers/businesses (B2B) or reduction in the workforce.
 
Ingleby_Flash said:
Someone bitching on the news that the bus fare increase would affect poor pensioners - that’s right the ones with the free bus passes 🙄 I’ve just got back from the lakes and when I’m there I use the busses all of the time just because it’s so cheap.

Also I thought they’d backed off scrapping non-dom because it wouldn’t really raise any money?
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It's not a bus fare increase to be clear. It's an increase in the capped price.
 
SmallTown said:
It's not a bus fare increase to be clear. It's an increase in the capped price.
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Like tuition fees the cap is where every company will set its price.

jeff_potato said:
My local authority have free child travel during school holidays too, which means even with the price cap going to £3 it will be cheaper to take them to the nearest city on the bus than it is to park there. This is the tipping point for public transport, when it is clearly better for your wallet in addition to easing congestion.
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It has to be cheaper and permanent. If I go to the town now it will cost me £5-£8 to park (worst case scenario, I can park further out and walk in for free) so if I am alone getting the bus is about break-even. Taking the family is £24 return at £3 each. Even in the best case scenario where kids are free it is more expensive and it is far less convenient. To get people using public transport you need to create the tipping point so every journey is cheaper and it has to be convenient. If the bus is only once an hour then it's another reason to take the car instead of drive. We need to get to a point where the routes are regular enough that whenever you turn up there is one in the next few minutes. We know the system works because it does in places that do it properly like London but the rest of the country has high prices, no routes and hourly service at best and they say they are cutting them because nobody is using them but nobody is using them because they are crap. A massive increase in quality of service will see a massive uptake in use and it is far easier to get a lot of people to pay a little than not a lot of people to pay a lot.

The cap is also really annoying because it's per journey leg so if you have a journey where you need to change, like a lot of people do because bus routes are typically hub and spoke, then the cost is really high again.
 
Whilst I approve of the leaked rises, it will be inflationary.

Minimum wage increasing, employers N.I. going up, will increase costs to customers. A fuel duty rise predicted 7p will affect every business as well as private drivers, it will lead to increases in everything. These rises wont be absorbed meaning we all pay more at the till which in turn raises more VAT too. It will therefore likely mean interest rates will remain higher for longer.

Happy if Capital Gains is raised and no problem with inheritance tax rises. Older people needing care homes often means a home ends up in the hands of the local authority.

I hope she doesn’t remove the 5% cap on council tax rises just yet, but feel some reform of the system is needed to help local authorities fund services, maybe a higher top band for wealthier owners. The bus rise is small beer really and I won’t see that as a big issue.

Working people will be worse off through indirect taxation and higher bills for food, energy, fuel and tradespeople will pass on costs when pricing jobs. Starmer refers to our payslips remaining unaffected., but the devil as always is in the detail, it is what our income can buy that will leave people worse off and the fiscal drag at the tax free allowance freeze means we really are worse off, but the tory mess has to be put right and paid for somehow. The tax free allowance hurts the poorest the most and I feel that should rise with a penny rise on income tax would have been fairer.
 
Boro.Fur said:
BBC News - Budget 2024: Minimum wage to rise to £12.21 an hour next year - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk

Minimum wage to rise to £12.21 an hour next year

The National Living Wage will rise by 77p from £11.44 per hour for workers over the age of 21.
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk
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16% rise in min wage for anyone 18-20 too which is a step in the right direction. Although no reason why two people doing the same job should be paid different because one is 18 and the other is 40
 
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