No one quite knew what to expect in the first budget by a majority Conservative government for almost 20 years.
In his seventh Budget Statement as chancellor, George Osborne promised a ‘big budget for a country with big ambitions’.
As predicted there were details on how the government will fulfil its pre-election goals of reducing welfare spending by £12 billion and changing the inheritance tax nil-rate band structure.
There were also some surprises such as the compulsory introduction of the national living wage from April 2016 and a reduction in corporation tax.
The Chancellor also gave an update on the wider economic picture using figures from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). Growth for 2014 was 3% (up from the forecast of 2.6% in March) and is expected to be 2.4% in 2015 thanks to stronger private consumption and investment.
This is the second year in a row that the UK is forecast to have the strongest economic growth of any major advanced economy.
The OBR predicts that a million more jobs will be created by the end of the Parliament.
The deficit is forecast to be 3.7% of GDP in 2015 and will fall by around 1% each year until 2019 when there will be a small budget surplus of 0.4%.
Despite the continued growth in the UK, Osborne warned that the ‘global economic risks are rising’, pinpointing slowing growth in the USA and China as examples.
A full copy of our report summarising the announcements made by Chancellor George Osborne during the 2015 Summer Budget on Wednesday 8 July 2015 is available in our Client Area or by contacting us at enquiries@bwm.co.uk.
To discuss any points raised in more detail please contact John Elliott or Sue Stephens.
