Vanguard Business Solutions @vbsolutionsUK

While I’m not a fan of Chancellors, I do believe the decision to means test the winter fuel allowance is sensible. The implementation of the change however, is a fiasco and so easily avoided. (SC). Discuss!

Rumours flying around that the UK Chancellor needs to raise another £30bn in tax this autumn. This after telling us she wouldn’t need to do it again after lumping £40bn on us last year. History has proven time and time again that high taxes kill growth!

Reeves provides £11.8bn for victims of infected blood scandal and their families, and £1.8bn for victims of Post Office Horizon scandal

A budget surplus under a Labour government! Almost unheard of.(SC)

Chancellor just admitted to a £40bn tax increase in this budget; that is a record!! Now to find out where the money is coming from.

Budget Day is Wednesday and almost anyone who employs people will be paying more tax. Call it NIC but it is a tax on jobs. There are literally over 100 ways to give tax free pay to your employees. Maybe now is a good time to look at salary sacrifice schemes?(SC).

Quick poll before next week’s budget. What is a “working person”? Answers on a postcard to 10 (or 11) Downing Street ‘cos Starmer and co. have no idea. The lies told during the election campaign are already unravelling….(SC)

Talk of up to £25bn of tax rises in the budget, bigger than austerity in 2010 and the first Blair budget. Fuelled not just by a “black hole”, but public sector pay, according to the IFS. Not sure how this will encourage investment & growth.(SC) #budget2024

Bit of midweek controversy coming….. I’ve long thought the winter fuel allowance should be means tested. Never made sense to pay it to those who didn’t need it. It is not a “right” as some have suggested. It is not part of the pension earned by paying NIC. Thoughts?(SC).

(2/) Let me ask you 1. Are you happy to give these pay rises to nurses, teachers etc? 2. Are you happy to pay for them through higher taxation? 3. If not, who should pay for them & how should the tax rises be implemented? 4. What will you do to limit any increase, if anything?

So the government are laying the groundwork for £25bn tax hike in November. As usual, they are blaming the old government for most of this. Approx £5bn was in their manifesto; another £3bn coming from the “inflation-busting” public sector pay awards. That leaves £17bn. (1/2)

Rich French citizens scrambling to take up Swiss/Italian residence after hard left party mentions swingeing tax rises. This is why @Keir_Starmer & @RachelReevesMP must tread carefully as they try to balance the books. Wealth (& the jobs they support) can easily go offshore. (SC)

Why on earth has the head of HMRC been given a knighthood? He has presided over a series of failures, cost overruns, bully boy tactics that have led to suicides and a catastrophic collapse in customer(their word, not mine!) service. In what mad world does this earn a reward?( SC)

Could someone at @TheIFS explain to me how Tom Wernham gets a marginal rate of 35% for employed basic rate taxpayers? His analysis of the Tory personal tax policies in yesterday’s manifesto seems to be out of line. ( and he adds that the income is subject to NICs on top). Thanks.

1st 2024 Tax Return filed earlier this week. That’s 1 down, xxx to go!!(SC) #taxreturns

Uk interest rates held again. BoE Committee voted 8-1 in favour of no change. Feels like the first cut is still three months’ away(SC).

It’s a good day when you generate a £14K tax refund for a client by going beyond in answering a payroll question and digging into the detail!!(SC)

HMRC have announced that they are postponing the helpline changes announced yesterday, while they consider how to help taxpayers use their website! This kind of policy-making on the hoof, with u-turns and delays has been going on for far too long. Heads should roll!(SC)

Breaking news today that HMRC helpline will be closed for half the year. Will be open during peak season for tax return prep. Taxpayers being encouraged to use their website to answer questions. Anyone else concerned that this will lead to more mistakes? (SC).