The budget hits the headlines this morning with changes that will make a large amount of the majority sing - a £9 per hour living wage in 2020 - and the same majority moam - a cut in benefits. To get a brief synopsis here is the review from the BBC.
Our new member accountant David Frederick of Marcus Bishop Associates, - gave us an outline of his thoughts:
"No one quite knew what to expect in the first budget by a majority Conservative government for almost 20 years. In his seventh Budget Statement as chancellor, George Osborne promised a ‘big budget for a country with big ambitions’.
As predicted there were details on how the government will fulfil its pre-election goals of reducing welfare spending by £12 billion and changing the inheritance tax nil-rate band structure.
There were also some surprises such as the compulsory introduction of the national living wage from April 2016 and a reduction in corporation tax. The Chancellor also gave an update on the wider economic picture using figures from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). Growth for 2014 was 3% (up from the forecast of 2.6% in March) and is expected to be 2.4% in 2015 thanks to stronger private consumption and investment."
