Budget 2024 latest: Angela Rayner ‘handed £1bn budget boost for housing revolution’
Speculation is mounting ahead of 30 October
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Housing secretary Angela Rayner is planning to double the number of council homes after receiving a boost in the budget, according to reports.
The deputy prime minister is set to announce nearly £1billion to begin a “council housing revolution” and build tens of thousands of extra homes, The Times reported.
Ms Rayner believes council housing is crucial for the government’s target of 1.5 million new homes in the next five years.
As part of the plan, the deputy PM is also set to crack down on the Right to Buy scheme, which allows council house residents to buy their homes below market value, according to The Times.
A senior government source told The Times: “Angela’s ambitions on social and council housing have the full backing of the prime minister and chancellor, and that will become even clearer in the weeks ahead.
"They are joined at the hip when it comes to getting Britain building.”
We’ll be bringing you all the latest updates ahead of the big event on 30 October here, on The Independent’s liveblog.
What should I do with my savings ahead of the Budget?
What should I do with my savings ahead of the Budget?
Reports that pensioners could have tax breaks cut or axed have led to savers withdrawing chunks of their retirement pots ahead of the chancellor’s announcement
Workers set for income tax hike as Rachel Reeves ‘to extend freeze on thresholds’
Workers set for income tax hike as Rachel Reeves ‘to extend freeze on thresholds’
Conservatives have accused Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves of preparing to break a manifesto pledge
Reeves’ capital gains tax plans will sidestep homeowners, reports say
Experts have long anticipated that Labour will put capital gains tax up in the Budget on 30 October. This is the levy is paid on the profit made when an asset which has increased in value is sold. This includes houses, assets and shares, all paid between 20 and 28 per cent.
The latest reports indicate that Ms Reeves will respond to calls to raise capital gains tax in line with income tax bands – meaning rates of 20 to 40 per cent – but will exempt property from the new rates.
Reeves considers raising tax on vaping in Budget
Rachel Reeves is considering raising the tax on vaping products in the upcoming Budget as figures lay bare how many children access them in the UK, The Guardian reports.
The tax on vaping products was originally announced by the Conservatives in March, to come in to force in 2026. It is now understood that Ms Reeves could look to increase this.
Under current plans, the new rates from April 2026 will range from £1-3 per 10ml of liquid, depending on nicotine level.
Stamp duty threshold to drop as Reeves denies extension
The chancellor is reportedly planning to confirm that the heightened stamp duty threshold will drop back to previous levels in March, costing housebuyers up to £2,500 more.
In 2022, the Conservatives under Liz Truss increased the ‘nil rate’ threshold – when stamp duty starts being paid – from £125,000 to £250,000. For first-time buyers, it rose from £300,000 to £425,000.
The approach is expected to raise £1.8 billion a year by 2029-30, but experts have warned the news will cause “chaos” in the property market as buyers rush deals to save money.
Property expert Kirstie Allsopp told Times Radio: “It’s become so complicated that I can no longer tell anyone what they would be paying in stamp duty.”
“It won’t claw back any money. Stamp duty is a dead tax.”
Government will keep manifesto pledges, says Starmer
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said that the government will keep to manifesto pledges ahead of the Budget.
Asked about whether reported tax changes under consideration would keep to their promise of not increasing taxes for working people, Sir Keir told a press conference in Berlin: “We are going to keep our manifesto pledges.”
He added: “I’m not going to pre-empt the individual measures that will be outlined by the Chancellor in due course.
“This is going to be a Budget that will fix the foundations and rebuild our country.”
When asked further about potential tax rises, the Prime Minister said that “you’ll just have to wait until the Chancellor lays that out in full, but the structure if you like, the framework, is going to be to fix the foundations and to rebuild our country.”
When is the 2024 Budget and what might be in it?
Chancellor Rachel Reeves will deliver Labour’s first Budget on Wednesday 30 October.
Each year, the chancellor of the exchequer - who is in charge of the government's finances - makes a Budget statement to MPs. .
The speech outlines the government's plans for spending and taxes.
The Budget speech usually starts around 12:30pm and lasts about an hour. The Independent will be bringing you all the latest updates on the big day.
Ms Reeves may be considering pushing the freeze beyond its current expiry date of 2028 in a move that could raise £7 billion, according to the Financial Times.
Other measures reported to be under consideration include increasing employers’ national insurance contributions, raising fuel duty for the first time since 2010, changes to rules on inheritance tax and stamp duty, and a levy on e-cigarettes, according to reports across the media.
The Treasury has so far declined to comment on Budget speculation.
What should I do with my savings ahead of the Budget?
Ahead of the Budget on 30 October, there has been fevered speculation about changes to pension savers’ tax allowances and other perks.
Reports that pensioners could have tax breaks cut or axed led to savers withdrawing chunks of their retirement pots ahead of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s big announcement.
What should I do with my savings ahead of the Budget?
Reports that pensioners could have tax breaks cut or axed have led to savers withdrawing chunks of their retirement pots ahead of the chancellor’s announcement
The real problem facing Rachel Reeves over the death tax...
... is that not only is it deeply unpopular, cautions James Moore – but it’s only a drop in the ocean when it comes to plugging the UK’s vast fiscal black hole
The real problem facing Rachel Reeves over the death tax...
... is that not only is it deeply unpopular, cautions James Moore – but it’s only a drop in the ocean when it comes to plugging the UK’s vast fiscal black hole
Tax-free cash withdrawals ‘surge while pension contributions plummet’ as savers panic over Budget rumours
Retirees are rushing to withdraw cash from their pensions ahead of feared cuts to tax-free benefits in the Budget, the boss of one of Britain’s top investment platforms has said.
Savers can typically take 25 per cent of their pension as a lump sum, up to a limit of £268,275, allowing them to avoid paying income tax, but Chancellor Rachel Reeves is reportedly considering a cut to the amount savers can withdraw without triggering a payment to HM Revenue & Customs.
Tax-free cash withdrawals surge as savers panic over Budget rumours
A shake-up of the UK’s generous pension tax allowances has been feared for several years as chancellors search for ways to raise money without further indebting the country or raising income tax
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