2021 UK Budget And What To Expect
The Chancellor promised an extra £1.65 billion cash injection to ensure that vaccines are frequent and plentiful in order to attempt to get the nation vaccinated, with an extra £50 million to boost The UK’s vaccine testing capabilities.
Furlough has been extended until the end of September in an attempt to further stop the spread of COVID-19 and give the most vulnerable people a further boost of protection.
The Government will be paying 80% of employees’ wages for the time that they can’t work, with employers being asked to start contributing 10% last July and a further 20% back in August and September.
After the UK’s economy shrank by 10% in 2020 this was put in place in order to protect businesses and attempt to stop the closures of companies.
Corporation tax on company profits above £250,000 has been increased from 19% to 25%, with the tax on smaller companies with profits less than £50,000 remaining at 19%.
There will be no increase in alcohol or tobacco duties.
The Chancellor announced an increase in funding for devolved regions in the UK.
Scotland will receive £1.2 billion, with Wales receiving £740million and Northern Ireland receiving £410 million.
The regional funding wasn’t exclusive to devolved nations, as £1 billion in funding was allocated to aid the regeneration of a number of English towns and cities, including Ipswich, Bournemouth, Swindon, Middlesbrough, Preston, West Bromwich, and Newark.
£150 million has also been allocated for community groups to take over pubs that are at risk of closing.
The government has also announced the first freeport locations in the UK, with the most notable being Liverpool.
Goods arriving in freeports from abroad won’t be subject to tariffs, unlike goods arriving elsewhere in the UK.
This appears to be part of the government’s post-Brexit plan for large-scale trade with countries outside of the EU, such as Canada and The USA.
