Rachel Reeves introduced a ground-breaking budget with far-reaching tax reforms (the most extensive since early-90s); her first major policy announcement as finance minister
The new fiscal strategy aims to balance day-to-day spending by late-29: creating extra 15.7 billion pounds for infrastructure projects. Business owners face higher costs - social security payments jump to 15% next spring while contribution thresholds drop to 5k pounds per worker
Wealthy individuals dont escape changes either. The govt extends inheritance-tax freeze until 2030; overseas income loopholes close-up raising 12.7 billion pounds over 5 years. Capital-gains tax sees a notable rise: lower rate moves to 18% and higher rate reaches 24%
The Office for Budget Responsibility shows mixed economic outlook; growth predictions range from 2% to 1.5% through mid-decade. Public services get significant boost:
- Health service receives 22.6 billion extra
- Education gets 6.7 billion with 500 schools rebuild plan
- Defense funding increases by 2.9 billion
- HS2 railway confirms central-London connection
Energy sector faces new rules - North Sea oil-gas producers windfall tax increases to 38% lasting until 2030. Property market sees changes too: second-home buyers pay 5% stamp duty (up by 2 points)‚ while fuel duty stays low for another year due to living costs