Don't forget Monday is the new tax year
As we move into the 2009/10 tax year there will be a number of changes from the 6 April which could impact on your everyday life. Aside from the fact that a number of tax allowances will increase, the basic state pension will rise by 5%, which was based on the retail price index last September, something which has now fallen to zero. This would indicate a minimal increase in the state pension over the next year if as expected inflation remains fairly low.
One tax which will hit those working in the market place with a salary of £43,875 and over is the increase in national insurance which will be payable at 11% up to this level and 1% above. This is something which was introduced by the government as a way of increasing the tax take off the middle classes and attempting to attract significant political support from low-income families. Whether this is the right path in the current economic environment is very much open to debate but the middle classes have in many ways become a political football.
It seems almost inevitable that the next general election will be fought on the subject of tax, low-income and high-income families. The days during which new Labour attempted to attract the middle classes seem to have gone, at least for the time being.
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