Local MP Steve Brine has welcomed further income tax cuts in the Budget which he said were delivering on a key Conservative election promise.
In the Summer Budget, which follows the election in May, the Chancellor set out the next steps in his plan to support working people by ensuring they keep more of the money they earn, including:
A down-payment on a £12,500 Personal Allowance: in 2016-17, the personal tax-free allowance will increase by £400 to £11,000, so that next year a typical rate income taxpayer will be £905 better off compared with 2010. This is part of our commitment to raise the allowance to £12,500 by the end of the parliament.
Delivering on our promise to raise the higher rate threshold: in 2016-17, the threshold for the higher rate of tax will increase from £42,385 to £43,000, saving the typical higher rate taxpayer £142 and lifting 130,000 people out of the rate altogether. This is a first step on our commitment to raise the threshold to £50,000 by the end of the parliament.
The Summer Budget also introduced a new compulsory National Living Wage of £9 an hour by 2020 for over 25s to support people in work. The move will mean two and a half million people get a direct pay rise. Those currently on the minimum wage will see their pay rise by over a third this Parliament, a cash increase for a full time worker of over £5,000.
Speaking from the House of Commons immediately after the Chancellor's statement, Steve Brine said; "The new National Living Wage combined with these income tax cuts are excellent news for the hardworking people I represent and shows we are already delivering what we promised at the election.
"The rise in the personal allowance, something I enthusiastically campaigned for in the last Parliament, will mean lower taxes for just over 48,000 working people here across Winchester and Chandler's Ford, with an estimated 800 people taken out of income tax altogether.
"The rise in the 40p threshold will also be warmly welcomed by many of those I represent and means fewer people will now pay the 40p rate of tax. That means local people keeping more of the money they've worked hard to earn, giving them and their families more financial security for the future."
Other measures welcomed by Mr Brine include; extending the Employment Allowance to £3,000 meaning a firm employing 4 people full-time on the new National Living Wage will pay no national insurance at all, finally raising the inheritance tax threshold for most couples to £1m and cutting corporation tax to 18 per cent by 2020.
And it was a surprise commitment to meet the NATO pledge to spend 2% of our national income on defence which Mr Brine said will 'delight' many of his constituents. "George Osborne said we will meet the 2% figure every year this decade which delighted me and I know thousands of others. These commitments don't come cheap but the alternatives are far more costly and this was an important signal to send the world in these increasingly uncertain times."
Pictured; George Osborne with the famous red box and Steve Brine speaking live to BBC Radio Solent this morning.
More information ...
Find out all the detail on Summer Budget 2015 via HM Treasury
LISTEN AGAIN - BBC Radio Solent Breakshow Show (fwd to 1:38:00)