Yeah, so basically the private sector is getting screwed whilst the public sector (which is funded by the private sector) has only had pay rises since the new government came in. Public sector workers will still get generous pension schemes and paid from first day of sickness etc, whilst private businesses get squeezed which means that their pension schemes will get even worse and many workers already don't get paid from first day of sickness etc. Any extra costs put onto busineeses will just lead to a poorer deal for their workers. If they're telling us that we're desperate for money from everywhere then why don't public sector workers share some of the pain? Yes, I understand that many public sector workers have not had real-term pay-rises in recent years, but this is true in the private sector too. Just share the pain is all I'm saying.
The main political parties just need to grow up and agree that whoever wins a general election will put up income taxes a bit, especially for those who can afford it more.
DWP is the second largest civil service department, in terms of employees. Most DWP Civil Servants are "Executive Officer" grade, these are the job coaches that you'll see in JobCentre Plus. The pay for an EO at DWP, outside of London, is £29,500 per annum; inside of London it's £33,500.
For an Administrative Officer at DWP, outside of London, the annual salary is £23,811. These are the administrative support staff, they'll work in service centres, or generally assist with the day to day operation of the office or department.
The National Living Wage salary, per year, is £23,795.20.
Whilst public sector workers have generous pension schemes, and sick pay entitlement, they do not have competitive pay. I suppose you could call it a trade off. The private sector could also offer generous pension schemes, pay you to be sick from day one, but your salary will probably be lower to fund it.
Businesses do not
have to put the strain of any additional costs onto their workers, that's a choice. If the cost of doing business is increasing for a company, they have plenty of ways they could choose to offset it. They could increase their prices / services; they could pay less out in bonuses; they could cut superfluous perks; they could also increase their trade, expand and do more business, or offer more services; they could improve customer retention and encourage more frequent repeat business; they could improve efficiency and productivity, through employee training, innovation or tech solutions. They do not have to put the strain of any additional costs of doing business onto their workers.
Absolutely catastrophic for family farms, hope they can find a way round the inheritance tax issue.
It's really not. Inheritance tax can be avoided in a few ways. Transferring any property, from one person to another, whilst both are still alive will avoid inheritance tax (provided that the original owner doesn't pass away within 7 years). Capital gains tax is only paid upon the sale of any asset. If a farmer gifts the farm to their family, the farmer can claim hold-over relief to defer any CGT liability. This means the family inherits the farm at the farmers original purchase price, and any CGT due is postponed until they sell the property. If it's truly about "family farming" , then realistically nothing changes. If it's about selling off the family farm, once the parents have passed on, well that's a different kettle of fish.
Additionally, I would be surprised if the ownership of the land weren't in the vehicle of a private limited company. In this scenario the farm would be owned by the family company, in perpetuity. It's really rather handy for succession planning, if you're intending to run everything as a business / company.
Not so great for small business
I'm not sure we were watching, or listening, to the same budget. Here's a breakdown on how it will affect small businesses.
- For 2025-26, the small business multiplier will be frozen, and retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) businesses will receive a 40% relief on their business rates, capped at £110,000 per business. These steps are intended to protect businesses from rising bills due to inflation.
- From 2026-27 onward, permanently lower business rates multipliers will be introduced specifically for RHL properties to support businesses in these sectors. This reduction will be funded by a higher multiplier applied to properties with Rateable Values exceeding £500,000.
- To counterbalance the increased National Insurance Contributions (NICs) burden on small businesses, the government is raising the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500 and eliminating the £100,000 threshold, extending its availability to all eligible employers. This expansion means that 865,000 employers will be exempt from paying any NICs in the subsequent year, and over half of employers subject to NICs liabilities will either experience no change or benefit overall.
- Recognising the significance of pubs, the budget includes a reduction in alcohol duty on draught products (about 60% of pub sales) by 1.7%, resulting in a penny reduction per average-strength pint.
- In spring 2025, the government plans to reveal a package simplifying tax administration with a focus on easing burdens on small businesses.
- To improve access to finance for start-ups and scale-ups, the budget proposes extending the Enterprise Investment Scheme and Venture Capital Trust schemes until 2035.
- The budget allocates over £250 million in funding for 2025-26 for the British Business Bank's small business loans programs.
- The budget also extends the Made Smarter Innovation program, with up to £37 million in funding in 2025-26, and doubles funding for the Made Smarter Adoption program to £16 million to support technology adoption among small manufacturing firms.
- The budget maintains the Corporation Tax Small Profits Rate and marginal relief at their current levels, ensuring 9 out of 10 actively trading companies, including a majority of SMEs, have a Corporation Tax rate below 25%.
Overall, the budget focuses on supporting small businesses through various tax reliefs, funding initiatives, and programs aimed at promoting growth and stability.
You can download a copy of the budget here:
