The Autumn Budget was announced at the very end of October and with it came plenty of financial plans for the short and long-term future. Given the uncertainty still surrounding Brexit, this may have been one of the most important budgets in recent times and it will have a big impact on businesses and individuals across the UK. For those with bad credit or who are struggling financially, there were a variety of positives and negatives that came out of it.
The Good News …
There were a number of price and duty freezes announced which will help out a lot of people. For example, duties on petrol were frozen for the ninth year in a row, which is believed to save the average car driver £1,000 and the average van driver £2,500 a year. The same is true for duty on beer, cider and spirits, which will stay frozen.
For those on a low wage, the tax threshold for income tax has been raised as well. The tax-free threshold for earnings will be £12,500 for the tax year beginning April 2019, while the higher rate increases to £50,000 from £46,350 currently. By the end of 2018 a new 26 to 30 railcard will be introduced, while the Help to Buy scheme has been extended to 2023, which is good news for youngsters.
… And the Bad
For those saving towards retirement, there were no changes announced to pensions tax relief and the ISA allowance will remain at £20,000. Anyone who is self-employed was hit with bad news too, with an increase in the amount of income tax expected for around one third of all people registered as self-employed.
This is because the Treasury believes many people reported as self-employed are working in the same way as employees and should pay more income tax and national insurance. These measures could further make life difficult for those trying to turn their bad credit around, though Ocean Finance could offer a possible solution.
Other Potential Impacts
The digital services tax and employment changes are aimed at securing greater revenue from large businesses by the government. However, for individuals working for smaller companies especially, if these measures are extended or increased it could see businesses start to consider ways to deal with the greater financial impact. For example, this could be through job losses, which would be far from ideal for anyone already struggling financially.
Overall, there were more positive outcomes from the Autumn Budget for individuals than negative ones, but no magic measure to quickly help those currently struggling with money.
