VAT, Air Passenger Duty and Tourism in Northern Ireland
The government haveopened a call for evidence on any impacts that VAT and/or APD have ontourism. Following this announcement DUP officials including MP, NigelDodds announced that this was a result of the DUP’s ongoing relationshipwith the UK government.
Brexit
Chancellor announced£1.5 billion funding to departments and devolved administrations toprepare for Brexit in 2018–19. This was part of the £3 billion announcedin the Autumn budget of last year.
Other points of note
Small businesses
The continuation of theSmall Business Rates Relief Scheme which was due to expire on 31stMarch has been extended and is seen as an extension of DUP policy on thematter. Senior figures such as Sammy Wilson, MP have welcomed thedecision.Chancellor bringsforward the next business rates revaluation from 2022 to 2021.Review into how to helpthe least productive businesses catch up with the most, and how toeliminate late payments to small businesses.
Housing
Government has reached a deal with the West Midlands for 215,000 new homes by 2030–31, with the help of a£100m grant from the land remediation fund.
Housing growth partnership –which provides financial support for small housebuilders – will be more than doubled to £220m.
Plastic waste
Chancellor announces call for evidence to tackle need to reduce plastic waste, including a look at alternative materials; how the tax system can drive technological and behavioural change.
£20m of funds available now to businesses and universities to stimulate new thinking on the subject.
Growth
Forecast of 1.5% growth for2018, revised up from 1.4%.
In 2019 growth is forecast to be1.3%, then 1.3% in 2020, 1.4% in 2021, and 1.5% in 2022.In November, growth was forecast at 1.3% for 2019, 1.3% for 2020, 1.5% in 2021 and 1.6% in 2022.
Borrowing
Forecast for borrowing of£45.2bn in 2017–18, revised down from £49.9bn. That is equivalent to 2.2% of GDP.
Borrowing is forecast to be 1.8%of GDP in 2018–19, 1.6% in 2019–20, 1.3% in 2020–21, 1.1% in 2021–22, and 0.9%in 2022–23.
A small current surplus is forecast for 2018–19, meaning the government would only have to borrow to fund capital investment, and not day–to–day spending
Debt is forecast to fall as a share of GDP in 2019–2020, a year later than forecast in November.
Some cookies are necessary for us to manage how our website behaves while other optional, or non-necessary, cookies help us to analyse website usage. You can Accept All or Reject All optional cookies or control individual cookie types below.
You can read more in our Cookie Notice
Functional
These cookies enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. You may disable these by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions.
Analytics cookies
Analytical cookies help us to improve our website by collecting and reporting information on its usage.
Third-Party Cookies
These cookies are set by a website other than the website you are visiting usually as a result of some embedded content such as a video, a social media share or a like button or a contact map
