Today is a big day in the United Kingdom. Today is the day the Chancellor of the Exchequer reveals the Budget.
Part of me feels like the only reason I started studying Economics was because one day I wanted to be the girl who held up that dashing red briefcase. Now, not so much. Who wants a handbag which you can only take out once a year? Well today the red case was proudly displayed, Alistair Darling’s first Budget was never going to be terribly exciting. The main highlights being an increase of 4p on every pint of beer, 14p on a bottle of wine and 55p on each bottle of spirits. A pack of 20 ciggies are going to set you back an extra 11p too. So those that love their booze and fags will be grumbling, which they inevitably always are this time of year. Anyone with a car is also likely to be less than pleased with Darling’s increase in road tax and the (delayed) increase in fuel duty by 2p.
So what did he have to say about property?
Nurses, teachers and other key workers will benefit from being able to borrow money from shared equity schemes and stamp duty on shared ownership homes will not be required until people own 80% of the property. Good news for these groups, but no real relief for the hundreds of thousands of other first time buyers who may have been hoping for some sort of break in this years budget. That being said, more people will be given the chance to have a long-term, low-risk fixed mortgage. But whether or not that will be seen as a particularly attractive offer is yet to be seen.
As for new homes, sites for 70,000 new properties have been identified and there will be an extra £26billion worth of funding pumped into greener homes next year.
And they were the only real property highlights really. If you want excitement and feel like the Budget hasn’t quite tickled your fancy, then stay tuned here at Zoomf over the next couple of days. Big changes are imminent!
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