Saturday 15 February 2020

So, what about the budget?

It is virtually certain that the main planks of the 2020 budget have already been laid. Therefore the change of chancellor should make little difference - even the headstrong Boris Johnson would not have risked losing Javid just three weeks ahead of the budget statement if there were to be a major impact.

We should expect - demand, even - the abolition of the "tampon tax" (5% Value Added Tax on all sanitary protection products). One of the few benefits of leaving the EU is regaining total control over rates of VAT and on the items on which it can be levied. So far, the government has been reluctant to confirm that the tax is to go, but the patience of the millions of people affected will not last for ever.

There ought to be introduced a financial transaction tax, a very small percentage on trades that go through the City of London which would not be noticed by small and medium investors but would add up to a useful boost to the exchequer. Now that we are out of the EU, we do not have to coordinate such a levy with whatever is coming down the line from Brussels. However, the big traders will pay a lot, even though it would be a very small proportion of their turnover, so have presumably already convinced the Treasury that it is a non-starter.


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