A Budget to forget from a Government in its ‘Last Days of Rome’ era

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt made a series of announcements in the Government’s Spring Budget

The Mouthy Money verdict? A forgettable exercise from a government in its ‘Last Days of Rome’ era.

From a National Insurance cut that forgot pensioners and the whopping great fiscal drag on income tax bands, to High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) reform that kicks the biggest issue into the long grass – this was not a Budget for the ages.

Hunt is severely limited by fiscal rules his own Government sets, and terrified of a resurgent bond market which put him in office in the first place.

The Chancellor announced some other changes, including the UK ISA or ‘Brit ISA’ as it has been dubbed. But this new allowance is largely symbolic and unlikely to either change people’s lives or have a major effect on the UK’s ailing stock market.

Mouthy Money editor and host of the Mouthy Money podcast Edmund Greaves joined interactive investor’s personal finance expert Myron Jobson to dissect the Budget.

You can listen to the full podcast to hear what they had to say on Hunt, his cut to NI and the other measures announced here.

End of the tax year

Also in the podcast, Myron took Edmund through some key final bits before the end of the tax year. Make sure you have a listen to ensure you don’t miss any key financial allowances before they’re gone forever!

Elsewhere on Mouthy Money this week, we’ve got a brand-new competition, giving away one of five copies of Loose Change by financial journalist Sonia Rach.

Plus, long-time contributor Michael Taggart updates his monthly Diary of an SME owner. This month Michael confuses the price of gyokuro tea, wins some new business and heads to Eastbourne in search of some good fortune.

Photo credits: Flickr