Philip Hammond quipped that he had his cough sweets on standby when delivering his second budget of the year in a spirit of solidarity with Theresa May as the government wrestles with keeping control of the British Parliament in light of the political pragmatism required by the country negotiating its divorce from the EU. Perfect conditions for a low content and non-contentious speech.
While thankfully he did not cut deeper into individual wealth, by leaving the pensions investment limits unchanged, the lifetime allowances on those savings effectively increased from £1,000,000 to £1,030,000 due to the September inflation measurement coming in at 3%. This prices index announcement will cause many in the medical profession to potentially see their annual Income Tax liability take a bigger slice of their assets in 2017/2018. Careful calculations will be required to assess the liability many of our readers will be exposed to and early help can be provided in quantifying individual liabilities.
The stamp duty amnesty comes as a welcome relief not only for first time home buyers but the bank of Mum and Dad although, apart from the mere indexed increases in annual tax limits, it stands alone in the column of tax giveaways on the Chancellor’s balance sheet.
There has been a recent fashion for announcing changes which take effect in the next or next but one fiscal period and in 2018 we must remember that we will see the impact of the dividend tax free allowance reduction from £5,000 to £2,000. Those in the Medical profession who use incorporated business within their service offering may need to consider accelerating profit extraction prior to the end of the current fiscal year to maximise their tax savings.
A low key budget as Brexit negotiations gather pace. Let us all hope that the Government’s supply of over the counter medication keeps the European born political viruses at bay paving the way for our future combined prosperity.
