After the first few weeks of Parliamentary business have been dominated by the Government delivering on its pledges to devolve more powers to Scotland and give us all a say on our membership of the EU today we have the second budget of the year.
It will be the first all Conservative budget since the end of the 1992 – 1997 Parliament. I expect to see the Chancellor start to deliver on the pledge to ensure the Country starts to live within its means. As a country we simply cannot continue borrowing every month to pay the bills. It means adding more to the accumulated national debt every month. a bigger national debt means ever higher interest payments.
The Conservative manifesto contained a pledge to increase the amount people can earn before starting to pay tax to £12,500 and I expect to hear more today about how the Chancellor plans to move towards that figure.
I have long held the view that one of the biggest problems any Government faces is the length and complexity of our tax laws and I hope the Chancellor takes steps in this first budget of the new Parliament to simplify the tax system.
David Nuttall 