In his first Budget on 8th March 2017, the new Chancellor Phillip Hammond announces the following:-

Tax

• 2% National Insurance rise for self employed workers by 2019.
• Tax free Dividend allowance on shares cut from £5,000 to £2,000
• The Income tax personal allowance will rise to £11,500 and the higher rate threshold (40p rate) to £45,000
• Clampdown totalling £820 million on tax avoidance to include action to stop businesses converting losses into trading losses.

Wages

• So called National Living Wage to rise to £7.50 an hour.

Business

• £435 million extra help for businesses hit by rates increases.
• Any business coming out of “small business rate relief” will benefit from a cap that will stop bills raising by more than £50 a month next yar.
• In future years it will be capped at wither the transitional rate or £50 a month, whichever is higher.
• All pubs with a rateable value of less than £100,000, 90% of all English pubs, will get a £1,000 discount.
• There will be a £300 million fund for councils to give discretionary help to the hardest hit.

Cigarettes and alcohol

• Beer, cider, wines and spirits will increase with RPI inflation, as previously announced.
• Tobacco will increase by 2% over RPI inflation, as previously announced.
• An effective mnimum price of £8.82 a pack of 20 will be introduced on cigarettes.