A Budget for Sutton Coldfield
The Budget this week is part of this Government’s long-term plan to give economic security to the families of Britain. The single biggest risk would be to abandon the plan and listen to Labour’s calls to borrow more, spend more and put up taxes. That would put the economic security of families throughout Sutton Coldfield at risk.
Cutting Taxes
From April 2015 the personal allowance will rise to £10,500, cutting taxes for 25 million people and taking another 290,000 out of paying income tax altogether. This will mean here in Sutton lower taxes for around 35,779 people, with 456 people taken out of income tax altogether. This means people keeping more of the money they have worked hard to earn, giving them and their families more financial security for the future.
In addition from next week beer duty will be cut by a penny.
Help for Savers
The Budget will help those who want to save by
- Merging the cash ISA and stocks & shares ISA into a single New ISA with an annual limit of £15,000 – this will make saving simpler and more flexible. 513,000 ISA holders in the West Midlands could benefit from the new ISA.
- Abolishing the 10p starting rate of tax for saving income. This will benefit 1.5 million low income savers across the UK.
- Creating a new “pensioner bond” that will offer a return that is better than anything pensioners can get now.
At a time of very low interest rates this will give a boost to help savers.
Pension Flexibility
- No one will have to buy an annuity if they don’t want to
- There will be no punitive 55% tax rate if you try to take more than your tax-free lump sum.
- A new guarantee, enforced in law, that everyone who retires on defined contribution schemes will be offered free, impartial, face-to-face advice.
Boost for businesses and manufacturing
Measures announced in the budget to support businesses include:
- Cutting the cost of manufacturing by cutting the cost of energy bills for manufacturers, with targeted support for energy intensive industries.
- Doubling the Annual Investment Allowance to £500,000 – meaning almost every business will pay no tax upfront when they invest in the future.
- Delivering the most competitive export finance in Europe by doubling the government lending available to exporters to £3 billion and cutting the typical interest rate on it by a third.
I know from my mailbag that this Budget addresses a number of direct Sutton Coldfield concerns - I hope it will reassure that with the Conservatives the economy is in safe hands.
Please visit my website to find out more about my work in Sutton Coldfield