Budget: Your at-a-glance guide to the 2017 Budget

Chancellor Philip Hammond delivers his Budget in March 2017

Chancellor Philip Hammond has delivered his last Budget before it is moved to the autumn. These are the key points:

Economy & Borrowing:

  • UK second-fastest growing economy in the G7 in 2016
  • Growth forecast for 2017 upgraded from 1.4% to 2%
  • But GDP downgraded to 1.6%, 1.7%, 1.9% in subsequent years, then 2% in 2021-22
  • Annual rate of inflation forecast to rise from 2.3% to 2.4% in 2017-18 before falling to 2.3% and 2.0% in subsequent years
  • A further 650,000 people expected to be in employment by 2021
  • Annual borrowing £51.7bn in 2016-17, £16.4bn lower than forecast
  • Borrowing forecast to total £58.3bn in 2017-18, £40.6bn in 2018-19, £21.4bn in 2019-20 and £20.6bn in 2020-21
  • Public sector net borrowing forecast to fall from 3.8% of GDP last year to 2.6% this year, then 2.9%, 1.9%, 1% and 0.9% in subsequent years, reaching 0.7% in 2021-22. But borrowing still predicted to be £100bn higher by 2020 than forecast in March 2016
  • Debt rose to 86.6% this year, but will fall to 79.8% in 2021-22

Taxation

  • The main rate of National Insurance contributions for the self-employed to increase from 9% to 10% in April 2018 and 11% in April 2019
  • The Class 4 rate is levied on earnings of more than £8,060 a year
  • The increases, which will apply to earnings under £43,000, will raise £145m a year by 2021-22 at an average cost of 60p a week to those affected. All Class 4 earnings above £43,000 will continue to be taxed at 2%
  • Class 2 National Insurance, a separate flat rate contribution paid by self-employed workers making a profit of more than £5,965 a year, is to be scrapped as planned in April 2018
  • Taken together, millions of self-employed workers could pay an average of £240 a year more but ministers say those earning £16,250 will pay less
  • No changes to National Insurance paid by the employed and employers or to income tax or VAT
  • Personal tax-free allowance to rise as planned to £11,500 this year and to £12,500 by 2020

Business rates and taxation

  • £435m for firms affected by increases in business rates, including £300m hardship fund for worst hit
  • Pubs with rateable value of less than £100,000 to get a £1,000 discount on rates they would have paid
  • Rate rises for businesses losing existing relief will be capped at £50 a month
  • A tax avoidance clampdown totalling £820m to include action to stop businesses converting capital losses into trading losses and introduction of UK VAT on roaming telecoms services outside the EU
Pubs will be given help to ease the burden of business rates

Entrepreneurs

  • Reduction in tax-free dividend allowance for shareholders and directors of small private firms from £5,000 to £2,000
  • The measure will come into force in April 2018, raising £2.63bn by 2021-2022
  • Measures to tackle abuse of overseas pension schemes

Booze, tobacco and petrol

  • No increases in alcohol or tobacco duties on top of those previously announced
  • A new minimum excise duty on cigarettes based on a packet price of £7.35
  • Tobacco will rise by 2% above Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation, with a packet of 20 cigarettes costing 35p more
  • Duty on beer, cider, wine and spirits will increase in line with RPI inflation
  • This will equate to 2p on a pint of beer, 1p on a pint of cider, 36p on a bottle of whisky and 32p on a bottle of gin
  • Vehicle excise duty rates for hauliers and the HGV Road User Levy frozen for another year
A packet of 20 cigarettes will cost 35p more

Infrastructure

  • Transport spending of £90m for the north of England and £23m for the Midlands to address pinch points on roads
  • £690m competition fund for English councils to tackle urban congestion.
  • £270m for new technologies such as robots and driverless vehicles
  • £16m for 5G mobile technology and £200m for local broadband networks
  • £250m in funding for Scottish Government, £200m for Welsh Government and £120m for Northern Ireland Executive

Health

  • £100m to place more GPs in accident and emergency departments for next winter
  • Additional £325m to allow the first NHS Sustainability and Transformation Plans to proceed
  • An extra £2bn for social care over next three years, with £1bn available in the next year
  • Long-term funding options to be considered but so-called “death tax” on estates ruled out
  • Most sugary soft drinks to be taxed at 24p per litre as part of plans to reduce childhood obesity

Women

  • New funding totalling £20m to support the campaign against violence against women and girls
  • A further £5m committed to project to celebrate the centenary of women first getting the vote, and to educate young people about its significance
  • Funding of £5m to support people returning to work after a career break
Comments (0)
Add Comment