Rachel Reeves is between a rock and a hard place - will it cost you more tax?

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This is Money

Business News, Business, Investing, News

4.1 • 650 Ratings

🗓️ 21 March 2025

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Rachel Reeves is due to deliver her Spring Statement next week and it's probably safe to say this isn't the position she wanted to be in.

After an Autumn Budget that raised spending and hiked taxes while locking the Chancellor in with a new fiscal rule, Reeves would have hoped to arrive in March with better news on the economy.

Instead, Labour's not-a-tax-on-working-people national insurance hike on employers has backfired, at the same time as the growth forecasts have taken a downturn and borrowing costs have risen.

So, what will the Chancellor do next week? Will she tweak her own fiscal rule, raise taxes again or cut spending in unprotected areas that are already suffering?

As Rachel Reeves finds herself between a rock and a hard place, Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert look at what could happen in this podcast.

Plus, what does the Bank of England holding rates and the potential future path mean for your savings and mortgage?

What should you do to sort your Isa and pension now?

Can you really give away £1million a year and dodge inheritance tax?

And finally, the question that anyone like Simon who racks up the odd foreign traffic infraction needs answered, if you get a holiday parking fine, do you have to pay it?

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to This is Money sponsored by Charles Stanley Direct. I'm Georgie Frost and joining me and Simon Lambert today is Lee Boyce. And coming up, it's been a busy week.
0:13.6	Strictor benefit rules announced, bad government borrowing figures, strong wage growth, stagnant unemployment, interest rates held. Shake it all together,
0:22.4	and what will we get next week in the Spring Statement? Simon and Lee take a punt. Also today,
0:28.5	the deadline is fast approaching to use it or to lose it. ISA, Isa baby. We explained the
0:35.0	bed nicer, a smart move to protect your investments from tax, and explore
0:39.3	how to get a £5,000 tax-free income from a stocks and shares, ISA. We have a millionaire
0:45.2	reader question, with a nice problem to have about inheritance tax, and I've been sent a parking
0:52.0	ticket from a holiday in Italy a year ago.
0:54.9	Do I still have to pay?
0:56.7	Don't forget things to stay out to date with all the latest breaking money news.
0:59.6	Just go to this ismoney.co.uk or download the app.
1:03.7	Take control of your finances with Charles Stanley Direct.
1:07.8	Invest, save, coach or plan. using technology where it's helpful and people
1:14.9	where it matters.
1:16.3	Our website and app make trading cost effective and flexible, but we're more than just an online
1:21.5	investment service.
1:23.1	We're here for you regardless of your financial needs or if your life takes an unexpected turn.
1:28.8	Your finances, your way.
1:31.5	Take control today with Charles Stanley Direct.
1:34.9	Sign up now.
1:35.7	Investment involves risk.
1:37.4	But first, the Chancellor is under increasing pressure to raise taxes and cut spending
	...

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