Budget 2024: At a glance

  Posted by: Dental Design      6th March 2024

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, has unveiled the Spring Budget. Here is a rundown of what was revealed:

• From April, National Insurance contributions for employees will be cut from 10% to 8%
• Self-employed National Insurance rates will also drop by 2%
• The higher rate of property capital gains tax will be reduced from 28% to 24%
• The non-dom tax status has been abolished
• Multiple Dwellings Relief (stamp duty relief for those purchasing more than one dwelling in a single transaction) has been scrapped
• The furnished holiday lettings regime has also been abolished
• Air passenger duty will be increased for non-economy class plane passengers
• The energy profits levy (the windfall tax on UK-produced oil and gas) has been extended to 2029
• The High Income Child Benefit Charge, which hits payments if one parent earns above £50,000 a year, is to move to a household-based system. The threshold will rise to £60,000 from April in the meantime. The top of the taper where it is withdrawn is raised to £80,000
• The household support fund has been extended for further six months
• The £90 charge to get a debt relief order is abolished
• Repayment periods for people on low incomes who take out new budgeting advance loans will increase from 12 to 24 months
• The new British ISA will allow for a £5,000 annual investment into UK businesses. Providing all the tax advantages of other ISAs, it will be offered on top of existing allowances
• A new British Savings Bond, delivered through NSNI, will offer a fixed rate, guaranteed for three years
• The NHS will received an additional £2.5 billion this year to tackle various issues, including waiting lists

Iain Stevenson, Head of Dental at Wesleyan Financial Services, commented on the announcement: “The cut to National Insurance will put more money back into the pockets of dentists – something hugely valuable at a time when the cost of living is still high.

“However, the fact that this reduction – for a second time in a row – only applies to employee contributions will keep the pressure on practices, which are still facing rising operating costs across the board, including staffing costs. We would have liked to see some relief extended to them too.”