Looking Ahead to the Autumn Budget

The end of summer and the holiday season brings that ‘back to school’ feeling for everyone. While the government grappled with an early autumn reshuffle followed by the controlled ceremony of Donald Trump’s unprecedented second state visit to Britain, attention turned to expectations around the Budget. Now scheduled for 26 November, the challenges for the Chancellor remain stark. 

The UK-US business development partnership outlined after Trump’s visit promises investment towards thousands of more jobs, particularly in the tech sector. The timeline for such promises to come to fruition, however, lies in the future. For now, many are anticipating increased pain ahead of the Autumn Budget. The Chancellor was keen after her inaugural Budget speech last year not to have to impose further tax burden on working people. However it is widely believed that taxes will have to rise if Reeves is to honour her fiscal rules. Our feature for this edition looks at the likely targets, and how taxpayers could respond.

If the Chancellor stays committed to protecting employees’ incomes, she may well look again at inheritance tax (IHT) for increasing tax receipts. Having imposed a cap for the first time on farmers’ and business owners’ tax-free inheritance from next April, there is potential to adjust the system of lifetime gifts, currently one area where (if certain criteria are met) IHT can be avoided.

Our other stories in this edition include: 

• Where next when investing for income? – Shifting your investment focus from building societies to sterling fixed interest funds or UK equity income funds could be a good strategy as banks and building societies’ interest rates are dropping, following the steady decline of the UK bank rate for the past 12 months.

• Are you up to speed with your State pension? – We are about to enter another transition period for State pension to age 67 (2026–2028) which will affect all those retiring during the next two years and beyond. A further increase to age 68 is due from 2044 but could be brought forward. 

• Time to shift from cash to stocks? –The Chancellor is keen to boost the UK economy by encouraging people to invest their money in stocks and shares. an information campaign is on its way to help persuade cautious UK savers away from cash and into investment.

Our next newsletter will be available in the winter when we will be looking at the impact of the Chancellor’s Budget decisions. Please do get in touch if we can continue to help or provide you with more information on any of the topics covered.