There is no question that this will not have been an easy Budget to put together. There are still uncertainties in respect of Covid19 and the UK economy has problems, for more than one reason. With so many people on a reduced income and many businesses suffering, tax hikes right now would be even more unwelcome than usual.
At this point in time, the UK is in more debt than it has been at any point in the past 50 years, at some £2.13 trillion which equates to 99% of GDP. Over the past 12 months the UK economy has shrunk by 10%, and some 700,000 people have lost jobs. UK unemployment is expected to peak at 6.5% in the 2021/22 tax year.
What is required now is to stimulate growth in the economy but I don’t think there is any immediate fix. The two main issues are to reduce debt and to support people and businesses who have been hardest hit – somewhat opposing issues.
No one knows quite how many people on furlough will actually have jobs to go back to and latest figures indicate that there are currently 6 million people on furlough in the UK at the moment.
This article is a brief overview of some of the main points with particular reference to any changes that have relevance to those living outside of the UK. The UK press will cover many points in detail but much of this is not directly relevant to expats so this article focuses on the main issues, highlighting any of relevance to expats.
