When is the Budget 2022? Predictions, time and what will Rishi Sunak say
CHANCELLOR Rishi Sunak is expected to announce his latest Budget in the coming weeks.
But what can Brits expect from the financial update?
The Government is under pressure to use the announcement to help struggling households who have been hit by rising energy bills and an increase in the cost of living.
When is the Budget?
The Government has asked the Office for Budget Responsibility, Britain's independent budget office, to produce new forecasts on 23 March.
On that day it will release the latest outlook for the economy and public finances.
This means that chancellor Rishi Sunak will also deliver his mid-year Spring Statement update on that day.
What is the Budget?
The Budget is when the Government outlines its plans for tax hikes, cuts and things like changes to Universal Credit and the minimum wage.
It's different to the Spending Review, which sets out how much public cash will go towards funding certain departments, devolved governments and services, such as the NHS.
The Budget is read out in the House of Commons by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. It will be Rishi Sunak's third Budget as Chancellor.
Because it has been billed as a Spring Statement, this is likely to be a mini-Budget, and may not be as detailed as a full Budget.
It functions more as an update on finances, and rarely includes any major tax or spending changes, although it can be used to tweak some policies.
What can we expect from the Budget 2022?
The Government is under pressure to do more to help cash-strapped families facing the worst cost-of-living crisis for decades.
And because the latest public finance figures suggest that the Government is firmly on track to borrow less this tax year than forecast, the Chancellor could use the extra wiggle room to announce some new measures to help people.
We may see some tax cuts and other help for households introduced.
The Government has already said that it will provide a £200 rebate to help with energy bills, and some households will qualify for a £150 council tax refund.
But Sunak could go further.
For example, the Government could choose to raise benefits by more than the 3.1% they are already going up by.
Another option could be to further cut the Universal Credit taper rate, which Sunak reduced in his October budget, which allows people to keep more money as their earnings increase.
He could also unfreeze personal tax allowances, which at the moment will drag more people into paying higher rates of tax.
Reports from politics website last week also suggested that the Government has commissioned its business department to look at ways of making the energy bill rebate more generous.
This could include doubling the amount, delaying the start of the loan repayments, or exempting some poorer households from having to pay it back.
Elsewhere, Labour MPs have called on Sunak to reverse the government’s planned 2.5% hike in National Insurance contributions.
Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said in January that Sunak still has time to halt the controversial rise before it comes into effect in April.
And even some MPs in the Conservative party want the rise to be halted.
But Sunak and Boris Johnson ruled out a reversal on the tax hikes earlier this year.
At the same time, surging inflation, which leads to rising costs on Government debt, might mean that Sunak is limited in what he can offer.
Myron Jobson, senior personal finance analyst at Interactive Investor, said: “It is no secret that the government needs to raise a significant amount of money to foot the World War Two-sized bill to meet the cost of its coronavirus economic support packages.
“The reality is we will have to pay for it some way or another - either by taxes going up or by spending being cut or, most likely, a combination of both.”
Pensioners could face another squeeze this year.
In last year’s Budget, Sunak froze the pensions lifetime allowance for five years, meaning up to two million savers will pay a 55% tax charge.
He also froze income tax, inheritance tax and capital gains tax thresholds.
Now tax experts say he may come back for more in his spring 2022 statement in order to help shore up the nations finances.
He could go after pensions tax relief, for example, in order to raise more money.
Currently, you can get tax relief on private pension contributions worth up to 100% of your annual earnings.
Ditching or reducing this benefit would result in more money for the Treasury.
The chancellor could also choose to increase capital gains tax to align with income tax - a proposal made by the Office of Tax Simplification last year but so far not implemented.
This would simplify the system and bring in an estimated £14billion to the exchequer a year.
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Jobson said: “The government will have a tricky task of addressing the huge spend on covid economic support policies, without fuelling the cost-of-living crisis.”
Last year, Sunak introduced measures including extending the Universal Credit £20 a week boost, increasing the National Living Wage by £345 a year, extending the stamp duty holiday, and giving self-employed people another £7,500 grant.
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