Autumn Budget 2024: Rachel Reeves’s national insurance and inheritance tax rises explained

Rachel Reeves has hiked employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) by 1.2 per cent, as she delivered the Labour government’s first Autumn Budget in office, which saw taxes rise by a record £40bn and government borrowing increase.

The Chancellor unveiled the rise – which is set to see the levy hit 15 per cent for firms and raise some £25bn in tax receipts over the forecast – as part of a package of fiscal measures aimed at setting out Labour’s agenda for power.

Reeves also said she was reducing the secondary threshold – the “level at which employers start paying national insurance on each employee’s salary” – from £9,100 a year to £5,000, and increasing the employment allowance from £5,000 to £10,500 in a boost for SMEs.

It came amid a Budget which hiked taxes by the biggest ever amount in cash terms, with Reeves blaming her economic inheritance from the Conservatives, arguing: “Together, the black hole in our public finances this year, which recurs every year, the compensation payments which they did not fund, and their failure to assess the scale of the challenges facing our public services means this budget raises taxes by £40bn.

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Produced by: Charlie Conchie, Larissa Howie, Emmanuel Nwosu, Joseph Curay Teneda, Jessica Frank-Keyes

#budget #budget2024 #labour #labourparty #politics #politicalnews #uknews #economy #uknews #tax

[jazminew]

She'll be gone by January 2025. I wish I could say the same about Kid Starver 😢

[mikeyoung]

Im a pensioner and never listened to the budget. Im too worried about what is going happen.

[-sly-Critique]

A whole penny off the pint my god what a saving

[bartz]

12.21 per hour? whats the point of getting any qualifications then?

[Seekingsophia]

How much money was spent on the covid app? 50 billion?

[jennierenshaw]

They need to be reminded that They are employed by Us

[chrisbugden]

Whats in it? Lies deceit and more devastation for working people

[roberts]

Inheritance tax applying to all not protected by non dom now?

[davidmead]

Small to medium businesses in the U K will struggle, if not closing down. The Care Sector, such as Privately owned care companies, will also close down or seriously struggle. That will have an impact upon the NHS which will add to "bed blocking" and put more strain on the NHS than it is now. The UK depends upon small to medium companies to provide meaningful jobs. Tax them into failure will cause the greatest failure in decades, and further require even more social/financial and care support. Does anyone in Parliament understand how the country works?

[kidders]

She just wanted a picture with that stupid briefcase.

No qualifications

[SNOWDONTRYFAN]

Labour have always been good at spending other peoples money, and of course this lot are no different, apart from the fact the new Labour were hard on the unions, not this lot, given its seriously in bed with the new breed of union paymasters aka union Barons who have a totally different set of terms and conditions for Starmer to follow, or else !

[marcuswall]

So they are screwing business again. Who would have guessed that they would do that!

[Keith-zb]

This increase on N I Contributions on big businesses and wage increase will be past on to the public meaning higher fuel, higher food prices firm's and farmers have to stay in business, they have to survive so the public will have to pay

[VanillaVenturesMalaysia]

Let me guess, money for Ukraine and Israel.

[tylerkiss]

Then they say why do people don’t work

[DanielJames-wzhd]

Absolute criminal.
Wish nothing but the worst for her

[markhodgkinson]

Minimum wage increase, but the personal tax allowance frozen. Utility costs through the roof. Worker protection doesn’t apply the most vulnerable agency workers. This is a disaster, curtesy of the first female chancellor. A chancellor with no qualifications for the job.

[Zolipants]

Man seriously, these people greed is just unbelievable, put a very small tax raise on the 200 odd billionaires we got and EVERYTHING will be sorted for EVERYBOOOODY

[MistaRude]

Watch everyone with money leave England…

[Helzakath]

What's in the budget? more wealth inequality and ableism.