All The Key Announcements In Jeremy Hunt's Spring Budget
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered his Spring Budget to the House of Commons on Wednesday, with Conservative MPs clamouring for tax cuts in the lead up to the General Election.
A cut to National Insurance, a slew of tax reforms including scrapping the controversial "non-dom" status, extension of cost of living measures, tax relief for creative industries and long called-for reform of child benefit thresholds were among headline measures in Hunt's plans.
Hunt said that improved economic projections from the Office for Budget Responsibility had enabled him to make the changes.
But will it be enough to satisfy Conservative MPs keen for an attention-grabbing offer to sell to voters on the doorstep as the government approaches this year's election trailing in the polls?
Here are all the key announcements in Jeremy Hunt's Spring Budget:
Employee National Insurance Contributions will be cut from 10 per cent to 8 per cent from this April, and self-employed national insurance will be cut from 8 per cent to 6 per cent. An initial cut was announced in last year’s Autumn Statement. Hunt described it as a change that grows the economy by “rewarding work”.
Hunt did not make any changes to income tax, as many Tories had hoped he might, but he did indicate that overall reforms to income tax and National Insurance could be on the cards in the near future, if economic conditions allow.
At the Autumn Statement, we cut employee National Insurance by 2p. Today we've cut it again.
This slashes the main rate of Employee NICs by a third.
This helps to grow the economy by encouraging people to work, and puts more money in people’s pockets. pic.twitter.com/DV23RNXJC0
From April, the threshold for the high income child benefit charge will be