Businesses, Families and Farms Hammered by Labour Budget
Businesses, families and farms across Essex will be worse off as a result of the Labour Government’s budget announcements, warns Witham MP Priti Patel. The budget, which increases taxes by record levels, includes a £25bn tax hike on businesses through changes to employers’ national insurance contributions and will force family-run farms to pay more as a result of changes to inheritance tax reliefs. First-time buyers are also set to pay more as Labour ends a stamp duty tax relief they were benefiting from, while the Government has failed to give commitments to funding the A12 widening scheme and A120 dualling scheme. Analysis from the Office of Budget Responsibility has forecast that the measures in the budget will hit household incomes, increase inflation and slow economic growth. Priti said:
“This tax-grabbing, business-bashing and job-destroying Labour Government have no clue how to get the economy growing. The raft of new taxes and burdens they have imposed on businesses will cost jobs and hit working people across the country hard. The disgraceful changes to inheritance tax on family farms will cause pain to rural communities and affect our domestic food production. Labour does not care about rural Essex.”
“I am also deeply concerned that we have heard nothing about the A12 widening scheme and the A120 dualling scheme. For months Labour ministers have hid behind the budget as a reason not to make any announcements but now we’ve had the budget this part of Essex is left in limbo. We need investment in those roads to make them safer, improve journey times and support economic growth.”
Priti also slammed the budget for confirming that VAT will be introduced on independent school fees from January 2025 and the abolition of the winter fuel payment for most pensioners. Priti said:
“Labour’s nasty tax on education penalises aspiration and is already causing distress to parents who have had little time to plan and children with special needs will be particular affected. It is also appalling to see Labour continuing with their cruel cuts to the winter fuel payment, which will cause hardship and ill health over the winter for our pensioners, who deserve dignity in their retirement.”