Why is the next budget so late?
As we approach the next budget on 22 April many people may be slightly confused as to why the budget has been announced after the end of the tax year. Historically budgets have been called before the end of the tax year so that any changes can be introduced at the start of the new tax year. So what can be read from this year's delay?
Many experts believe that the fact this year's budget will be delivered on 22 April indicates there will be very little change in the system. Governments are not often willing to change tax rates and tax bands halfway through a tax year and even more against backdating allowances and various changes to the tax regime. It seems highly inevitable that the overall impact of the forthcoming budget will be exactly nothing although we may see some movement around the edges with regards to VAT on cigarettes, alcohol and petrol.
It is common knowledge that to all intents and purposes the hands of the UK government are very much tied with regards to taxation in the short term. However, in the medium to longer term it is inevitable we will see a significant increase in taxation to pay down the ever growing national debt which has now reached alarming levels.
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