When a new Prime Minister takes office, it is usual for them to want to put their own stamp on things and Liz Truss and her team are doing just that. Kwasi Kwarteng, the current Chancellor of the Exchequer, has made a few announcements today, a mini-budget if you will, or an oddly named ‘fiscal event’ according to the government.

As has been the case in recent years, many measures have already been announced or deliberately leaked so this was largely about clarification.

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 and especially in the GCC. The UK press will cover many points in detail but many of the points will not be directly relevant to expats so this article focuses on the points that will be most relevant to us.

EDIT. As this mini-budget went down so poorly, and did such dmanage to UK financial markets, Kwazi Kwateng was replaced by Jeremy Hunt and many of the announcements have since been rescinded so I have commented under each section to clarify.  Added comments are in italics.

Continue reading →