{"id":4686,"date":"2022-11-18T10:17:02","date_gmt":"2022-11-18T10:17:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goodmanjones.com\/blog\/?p=4686"},"modified":"2023-09-07T11:00:09","modified_gmt":"2023-09-07T10:00:09","slug":"autumn-statement-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goodmanjones.com\/blog\/autumn-statement-response\/","title":{"rendered":"Autumn Statement Response"},"content":{"rendered":"

INTRODUCTION<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt\u2019s Autumn Statement came against the background of a Spring Statement and a September \u2018mini-Budget\u2019 (which has now been substantially reversed). The overall context is a European recession and high inflation in the wake of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Autumn Statement was presented as a difficult and necessary exercise to restore confidence in the UK\u2019s financial position. In October, Mr Hunt spoke of \u201cdecisions of eye-watering difficulty\u201d and ever since there has been a regular flow of rumours\/leaks about which taxes may increase, how long existing tax allowance freezes could be extended and in which areas spending cuts would fall.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The steady supply of information felt like a pre-Budget kite-flying exercise, so that when the bad news arrived it was at least not a complete surprise. But that did not make the wide range of measures announced on 17 November any less painful.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Just under half of the \u00a355 billion consolidation came from tax and the balance from spending. Mr Hunt described his strategy as a balanced plan for stability, following two broad principles: asking those with more to contribute more; and avoiding tax rises that most damage growth. Nevertheless, the tax increases announced are substantial, according to Mr Hunt, with tax as a percentage of GDP increasing by 1% over the next five years.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Chancellor said he aimed to deliver a plan to tackle the cost of living crisis and rebuild the economy with stability, growth and public services as the priorities.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

HIGHLIGHTS<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n