23
March
2022
Rishi Sunak has been in the House of Commons setting out his plans to ease the cost-of-living crisis. Here is a brief review of his main talking points... FUEL DUTY Fuel duty is being cut by 5p per litre from 6pm on March 23. While the fuel duty cut is still dwarfed by the huge rise in petrol and diesel costs over the last few months, Sunak said this measure was worth more than £5 billion. It will remain place until March 2023. ENERGY SAVING materials The Chancellor confirmed that VAT was being cut to zero on energy saving materials, including solar panels, heating pumps and roof insulation. Sunak said this would cut the cost of installation by £1,000. He said the measures would not be implemented in Northern Ireland because of the Brexit protocol, but the country would receive equivalent funding. NATIONAL INSURANCE THRESHOLD While the Health and Social Care levy will remain in place, the Chancellor said he would raise the National Insurance threshold by £3,000 to £12,750 from July – making it equivalent to the Income Tax threshold. He heralded this as a £6 billion tax cut for 30 million people, averaging out at £330 a year for "typical employees". Sunak claimed it was the “biggest single personal tax cut in over a decade”. Money Saving Expert, Martin Lewis, tweeted the following... https://twitter.com/MartinSLewis/status/1506618962578128900?s=20&t=MWKf8M4_BtT9DcFizVI6ow BUSINESS INVESTMENT AND BUSINESS RATES Sunak said tax rates would be cut on business investment. He added a temporary 50% business rates discount for eligible businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure business, would save them up to £110,000. EMPLOYMENT ALLOWANCES The Employment Allowance will increase in April to £5,000. The Chancellor said that would be a cut of up to £1,000 for around half a million small businesses. INFLATION The squeeze on earnings is likely to continue with the Office for Budget Responsibility forecasting that inflation will increase to 7.4%. This morning, it was announced inflation was at 6.2% and, with another energy price cap increase predicted in the autumn, the increase in the cost of living is set to continue for some time to come. The Office for Budget Responsibility said: https://twitter.com/OBR_UK/status/1506625787998490625?s=20&t=MWKf8M4_BtT9DcFizVI6ow INCOME TAX The Chancellor said he would cut the basic rate of income tax by 20p to 19p in the pound by the end of the current Parliament in 2024. To read Chancellor Sunak's plans in much more detail, click here. Do you subscribe to the GCMA's weekly E-newsletter? Make sure you're not missing out on the latest in the world of golf club management. Click here to join in. Please LOGIN to read the full article.
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