What is in the Autumn Budget?

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, has announced its Autumn Budget on Wednesday 22 November 2017. The Autumn Budget sets out the government's plan for the econmy based on the latests forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

So what are the key news to remember regarding this new budget?

-Stamp duty is abolished for first-time buyers purchasing a home worth less than £300,000 and the first £300,000 of ones worth up to £500,000 in London.

-The basic rate income tax threshold will rise to £11,850 in April 2018 and higher rate threshold to rise to £46,350.

-the National Living Wage will rise 4.4% in April, from £7.50 an hour to £7.83.

-There will be an extra £10 billion in real terms for the NHS a year by 2020 and £350 million right away to allow health trusts to plan for this winter.

-councils will be able to charge a 100% council tax premium on empty homes.

-In a bid to clampdown on tax avoidance companies like Google and Amazon, Hammond pledged to charge income tax on those companies’ royalties from sales in Britain from April 2019, which is expected to raise £200 million a year.

Following the Chancellor's announcement at Autumn Statement 2016, there will now only be one fiscal event in each year, held in the Autumn. From 2018 there will be a Spring Statement, responding to the forecast from the OBR, but no major fiscal event.