Every budget has its winners and losers, and John Healey’s first as chancellor was no exception.
asserted
first → have → chancellor
While some gained from tax breaks and rule tweaks, others will either pay more, or had their hopes of reforms dashed.
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hopes → gain → reforms
Here are some of those with reason to cheer, or sigh:
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some → cheer → reason
The payment is guaranteed in England from January.
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payment → guarantee → January
Other parts of the UK have been given funding to do the same.
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parts → give → same
The state pension will go up to £13,036 next April, and pensioners will get a new matching personal allowance at the same time.
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pensioners → go → time
The allowance will lift all income they receive to that level out of tax.
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they → lift → tax
Teenage tech bros – and other young entrepreneurs, in England: They will gain from a new allowance, which will give them support towards their living costs in the first year of their business.
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which → gain → business
More generous tax reliefs for small alcohol producers will help 2,000 businesses, and a new “guest beer” rule will mean that tied pubs in England and Wales must offer their drinks.
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pubs → help → drinks
EV drivers – but only those who use lower-powered public chargers:
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who → use → chargers
The government will give £100m in subsidies for on-street charging, saving people without home charging about £150 a year.
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home → give → 150
The Your First Home scheme will help those with a deposit of as little as 2.5% to buy a newbuild home.
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scheme → help → home
It will be open to households earning up to £140,000 in London, and £110,000 everywhere else in England.
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It → earn → England
Savers under 65 will not have their cash Isa allowance cut next April after Healey reversed an announcement made in last year’s budget.
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Healey → have → budget
They will, however, be encouraged to try their hand at investing with a new, yet to be announced, incentive for those buying stocks and shares for the first time.
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They → encourage → time
Two weeks of paternity pay, currently worth up to £194 a week, will be available from April 2029 to those who work for themselves.
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who → work → themselves
The small bear from Peru is a well-known consumer of marmalade and could see the cost of his favourite spread fall by 20% as a result of the removal of tariffs from more than a 100 products, which also included gherkins and garlic.
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which → know → gherkins
A temporary increase in the bank corporation tax surcharge, from 3% to 6% for 15 months, will mean they pay a combined £1.5bn extra to the Treasury over the period.
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they → mean → period
But it had been suggested that the levy would be raised to 8% and bank shares rose after the budget, so maybe they are actually winners.
Betting shops:
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they → suggest → budget
Tax on slot machines with stakes of £1 or more will increase from 20% to 25% from April 2027.
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Tax → increase → April
Shares in gambling companies also rose, as investors had feared the hike may be bigger.
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hike → rise → companies
They may have hoped for a change in the repayment thresholds to ease the pain felt by those on plan 2 loans, but there was no movement.
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They → hop → loans
Instead the thresholds are set to be frozen from next April.
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thresholds → set → April
Savers who have money outside Isas:
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who → have → Isas
The tax on interest was set to go up next April and Healey added another two percentage points to the rates that had already been announced.
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that → set → rates
Once a basic-rate saver has used up their tax-free allowance on interest they will pay 24% on returns, while a higher rate taxpayer will pay 44% and an additional rate payer 49%.
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taxpayer → use → %
Taxes on property income will also go up by more than had been expected, and to the rates outlined for savers.
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Taxes → go → savers
The increase in taxes on landlords could lead to a steady rise in rents, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility.
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increase → lead → Responsibility
It says, together with other measures introduced in recent years, the extra cost means landlords may leave the market and potential new investors stay out.
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investors → say → market
The £100 energy rebate is being distributed using council tax bands, but this means 1.4 million of the poorest families miss out, according to the Resolution Foundation.
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million → distribute → Foundation
The budget included exemptions for biodiversity net gain (BNG) on brownfield sites.
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budget → include → sites
BNG requires developers to build in nature gains when developing plots but Healey is removing this requirement for plots up to 1.5 hectares (3.7 acres) in England.
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Healey → require → England
The Aporia
