Every budget has its winners and losers, and John Healey’s first as chancellor was no exception. While some gained from tax breaks and rule tweaks, others will either pay more, or had their hopes of reforms dashed. Here are some of those with reason to cheer, or sigh: Everyone in a band A-D property: A £100 payment to help towards this winter’s energy costs.
The payment is guaranteed in England from January. Other parts of the UK have been given funding to do the same. Pensioners: The state pension will go up to £13,036 next April, and pensioners will get a new matching personal allowance at the same time.
The allowance will lift all income they receive to that level out of tax. Teenage tech bros – and other young entrepreneurs, in England: They will gain from a new allowance, which will give them support towards their living costs in the first year of their business. Independent cider makers, and brewers: More generous tax reliefs for small alcohol producers will help 2,000 businesses, and a new “guest beer” rule will mean that tied pubs in England and Wales must offer their drinks.
EV drivers – but only those who use lower-powered public chargers: The government will give £100m in subsidies for on-street charging, saving people without home charging about £150 a year. First-time buyers with small savings: The Your First Home scheme will help those with a deposit of as little as 2.5% to buy a newbuild home. It will be open to households earning up to £140,000 in London, and £110,000 everywhere else in England.
Cash Isa fans: Savers under 65 will not have their cash Isa allowance cut next April after Healey reversed an announcement made in last year’s budget. They will, however, be encouraged to try their hand at investing with a new, yet to be announced, incentive for those buying stocks and shares for the first time. Self-employed fathers: Two weeks of paternity pay, currently worth up to £194 a week, will be available from April 2029 to those who work for themselves.
Paddington Bear: The small bear from Peru is a well-known consumer of marmalade and could see the cost of his favourite spread fall by 20% as a result of the removal of tariffs from more than a 100 products, which also included gherkins and garlic. Banks: A temporary increase in the bank corporation tax surcharge, from 3% to 6% for 15 months, will mean they pay a combined £1.5bn extra to the Treasury over the period. But it had been suggested that the levy would be raised to 8% and bank shares rose after the budget, so maybe they are actually winners.
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