• The chancellor of the exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, set out the UK government’s budget for 2024 to the House of Commons on Wednesday. 
• The budget statement contained measures related to taxation and spending.  
• The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) also published its five-year forecasts for the economy and public finances.

The chancellor of the exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, delivered the government’s budget statement to the House of Commons on Wednesday.

Mr. Hunt updated the gathered members of parliament on the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) latest forecasts for the British economy. He reported that gross domestic product (GDP) growth was marginally stronger than projected this year, at 0.8 percent, with expectations of 1.9 percent in 2025. He also stated that inflation was likely to fall to the Bank of England’s target of 2 percent within the next few months – around a year earlier than predicted in the Autumn Statement.  

In addition, Mr. Hunt outlined the government’s short and long-term fiscal policies, including taxation and spending proposals. He announced plans to cut employee national insurance from 10 to 8 percent and reduce the main rate of NIC for self-employed people from 8 to 6 percent. The chancellor also pledged to raise the VAT registration threshold from £85,000 to £90,000, abolish the current non-dom tax regime for UK residents whose permanent home is abroad, and increase departmental spending at 1 percent above inflation in real terms.

Other Measures

Away from the big headlines, a series of other measures were revealed:

• An extra £200 million for the Recovery Loan Scheme aimed at helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) access funding. This newly christened Growth Guarantee Scheme will be extended until 2026.
• The first Investment Zones in the North of England and Midlands will be launched in April, with a ten-year growth package to improve skills, boost research and development, benefit local infrastructure, and increase business investment.  
• A so-called British ISA to allow an additional £5,000 of tax-free investment in UK assets. 
• £120 million more for the Green Growth Accelerator, with a view to building new and robust supply chains for technologies such as offshore wind and carbon capture.
• A pledge of £270 million for advanced manufacturing industries to fund car and space innovation.
• £1 billion in further tax relief for creative industries over the next five years to encourage inward investment and attract companies from around the world to the UK.
• An increase in the High Income Child Benefit Charge threshold from £50,000 to £60,000.