What is George Osborne likely to say during the Autumn Statement?
George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, will deliver his 2015 Autumn Statement on 25th November this year. The Autumn Statement is essentially a second Budget for the year, although it will be the third this year, as there was a Summer Budget following the General Election.
This year the Autumn Statement will be combined with the Spending Review, which is when the Government decides on budgets for each of its departments.
So what do we know will feature in the speech? And what is likely to pop up?
Tax Credits
Undoubtedly the big topic of the Autumn Statement will be Tax Credits, after the Government’s planned cuts were embarrassingly toppled by the House of Lords. The Government had planned to slash spending on Tax Credits by a whopping £4.4 billion, but critics argued that the cuts went too far, particularly before the new Living Wage comes into force.
As a result, the Government has already confirmed that it will announce revamped Tax Credit plans as part of the Autumn Statement.
Pensions Tax relief
[SPOTLIGHT]The Government is currently reviewing the various tax breaks on offer to high earners' pension contributions. However, that consultation is still ongoing, and the indications are that any plans will have to wait until next year’s Budget.
New State Pension
The New State Pension comes in from next April, so we may get confirmation of what the full rate will be. The minimum rate it can be set at is £151.25, but there has been talk that the final figure will be nearer £155.
Help to Buy: ISA
The Help to Buy: ISA launches in December, and is designed to help homebuyers save a deposit. The Government will boost your savings by 25%, up to a maximum of £3,000.
A number of providers have been revealed already, but we may hear details on more banks and building societies taking part.
Stamp Duty
Much has been made of how revenues from Stamp Duty have tumbled since the rates were increased for the largest property transactions. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has suggested that the Chancellor may look to reduce the higher rate in the Autumn Statement.
Fuel duty
The Chancellor may be looking at adding up to 2p onto diesel duty, according to reports, following the Volkswagen emissions scandal.
However campaigners FairFuel UK argues that duty should actually be cut by at least 3p per litre across both petrol and diesel.
Salary Sacrifice
PwC has suggested the Government may turn its gaze towards salary sacrifice as a way of boosting revenues.
Do nothing!
This will be the fourth Autumn Statement or Budget delivered by the Chancellor over the last 12 months. Given the sheer number of changes introduced in previous speeches, there has been an appeal from some industry figures for stability.
Caroline Le Jeune, partner at Blick Rothenberg, said: "We would appeal to the Chancellor for stability and no more changes so that UK taxpayers can actually conduct their business and financial affairs with some degree of certainty. The current climate of continual change results in people hesitating over conducting business in the UK.”
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