Spring Budget 2024

Economy

Inflation at 11% when Rishi Sunak took office.  Latest figure is 4%, meeting pledge to halve inflation, and should be below the target of 2% in a few months, one year earlier than previously forecast.

The OBR has forecast debt as a percentage of GDP for the next four years as follows:

• 2024/25 91.7%
• 2025/26 92.8%
• 2026/27 93.2%
• 2027/28 93.2%
• 2028/29 92.9%

The OBR has forecast growth for our economy in each of the next five years as follows:

• 2024 – 0.8%
• 2025 – 1.9% (0.5% more than forecast in Autumn Statement)
• 2026 – 2.2%
• 2027 – 1.8%
• 2028 – 1.7%

Tax measures

• VAT registration limit to increase from £85,000 to £90,000
• Furnished holiday lettings regime to be abolished
• Multiple dwellings relief for stamp duty land tax (SDLT) to be abolished
• Sale of residential property: top rate reduced from 28% to 24%
• Current non-dom rules to be abolished and replaced with a four year residency system from April 2025
• New non-doms treated like all other taxpayers after first four years of residency
• High income child benefit charge to be based on total household income from April 2026 and from April 2024 the lower threshold at which the charge applies to increase from £50,000 to £60,000 with all child benefit clawed back when income reaches £80,0000 (previously £60,000)
• NIC cut by a further 2 percentage points for all workers, but no change to the 2% rate for higher earners

Spending

• NHS productivity spending plan adopted in full:
  • Additional £3.3bn to modernise the IT systems, ensuring the NHS is the largest digitally integrated healthcare service in the world; and
  • £2.5bn to reduce waiting times

  £230m of additional funding for technology to improve police response times.