Chancellor John Healey said his aim for yesterday's Budget was to give households 'breathing space'.
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aim → say → space
His measures took a loose aim at those on lower incomes but only some will benefit thanks to a lack of precise targeting.
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some → take → targeting
The poorest pensioners will be spared income tax, but others just above them will have to pay up on their state pension.
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others → spar → pension
At the same time, lower income households will suffer from frozen tax thresholds, while further up the scale more families risk being dragged into higher rate tax brackets.
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families → suffer → brackets
And middle income families and pensioners could end up footing the bill for some of his measures, via punishing taxes on savers and landlords.
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families → end → savers
We round up the winners and losers from Labour's tax tweaks – and you can calculate exactly how all the measures will affect your money in our Budget Deep Dive.
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measures → round → Dive
John Healey's measures could lead to moderate cuts in bills for those on lower incomes but will hit the middle class, especially savers and landlords
Winners from John Healey's Budget
People in council tax bands A-D
John Healey has said council tax payers in bands A to D will receive a direct £100 payment per household to help with energy bills.
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payers → lead → bills
The full cost of rising bills is likely to substantially outweigh this.
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cost → rise → this
About 20 million people will get it.
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people → get → it
The news caused a council tax page on the government website to crash as people scrambled to check their band.
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people → cause → band
While giving the payouts to those in Band A to D roughly targets those at the lower end of the scale, there is no direct relationship between income and your home's council tax rating.
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giving → give → income
Resolution foundation chief executive Ruth Curtice said Healey's Budget had been 'scattergun'.
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Budget → say → ?
She added: 'Cost of living support is being spread far too thinly and will leave even those families receiving help facing higher energy bills than they did during the last energy price shock.
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they → add → shock
'
This is Money strongly recommends that you do something about your own bills and consider one of the best fixed energy deals.
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you → recommend → deals
Low energy use households with gas bills
For all households, standing charges on gas bills will be scrapped as soon as next year.
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charges → stand → year
Standing charges are daily fixed charges added to energy bills that people must pay regardless of how much energy they use.
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they → stand → energy
They cost households around £200 a year for electricity and approximately £108 a year for gas.
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They → cost → gas
They are used to cover energy firms' costs, including infrastructure and billing.
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They → use → infrastructure
Experts say energy firms will still need to meet these costs and could shift these them on to higher unit rates – what people pay for each unit of gas used.
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people → say → gas
This means it should benefit smaller households who ration their gas use, but could mean large ones who use lots of gas could end up paying more.
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who → mean → more
The poorest pensioners
With the state pension set to rise to £13,036 in April, those who rely on it as their only income would face paying income tax on it for the first time.
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who → set → time
But John Healey averted this by letting pensioners off paying income tax if their total income – regardless of the source – matches or is below the headline state pension.
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income → avert → pension
This Pension Tax Allowance will rise in line with the headline annual payment until at least April 2030.
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Allowance → rise → April
This stalls the problem of the state pension being taxed for now but creates a two-tier system for pensioners, with some let off tax and others paying it.
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others → stall → it
This is Money's pension expert Sir Steve Webb also warns tapering the allowance away will create a new tax trap.
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tapering → warn → trap
You can find out more below in our Budget losers section.
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You → find → section
In a boost for savers, the Chancellor abandoned his predecessor Rachel Reeves' unpopular plans to cut the cash Isa allowance from £20,000 per year to £12,000 for under-65s.
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Chancellor → abandon → under-65s
This Is Money and the Daily Mail pushed for the change in our Hands off our cash Isas campaign.
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Mail → push → campaign
But savers will also be taxed more, pushing them into our Losers section below too.
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savers → tax → section
Details of the Your First Home scheme were announced.
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Details → announce → scheme
It will help people get on the ladder in a new-build property with just a 2.5 per cent deposit, with assistance from a government equity loan.
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people → help → loan
Properties above a certain value are excluded, with the exact limit depending on where you live.
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you → exclude → value
There are caps on how much users of the scheme can earn, too.
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users → be → scheme
A new First Time Buyer Isa to help people save for a home was also mentioned, and Healey lowered the withdrawal penalty for existing Lifetime Isa holders who buy a home worth over £450,000 to 20 per cent, down from 25 per cent.
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who → help → cent
This means they will only lose the government bonus and not any of their own cash.
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they → mean → cash
People who want to start investing
The details were scant, but Healey teased a new investing 'starter Isa' which would encourage people to put money into stocks and shares for the first time.
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which → want → time
Experts suggested this could mean they are offered a financial incentive.
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they → suggest → incentive
Isabella Galliers-Pratt, senior investment director at investment management firm Rathbones, said it could take the form of a government 'top-up on an initial investment, for example, giving people a tangible reason to take that first step'.
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top → say → step
Side hustlers
The amount of money people can earn in 'side hustle' jobs before paying tax will treble from £1,000 to £3,000 in the next tax year.
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people → earn → year
It is good news for Vinted sellers, dog walkers and others who make a bit of money on the side, and means many will no longer have to file a tax return.
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many → make → return
…and 40 more, not listed.
The Aporia
