One of the biggest fiscal events of the year: Jeremy Hunt announced his budget for the country for the next year and beyond.

This is a particularly important budget for the Conservative Party as we are in an election year and as such the policies announced today are going to be a crucial part of voters’ decision making when they head to the polls this year.

As to whether this is a ‘good’ budget is not for me to judge and I also won’t comment on the public sector spending and investment – this is purely about how it will affect personal finance (my area of expertise).

The headline-grabbing announcement is that National Insurance has been cut by two percentage points for both employees and the self-employed from April.

This means that employees will pay 8% NI on incomes above £12,570 (down from 10%) and the self-employed will pay 6% (down from 8%) which will save the average earner £450 a year.

In his 2022 Budget, current PM Rishi Sunak pledged a cut to the basic rate of income tax from 20% to 19% by 2024 however that has not been announced or is likely to happen.

The next key announcement is a shake-up to the ISA system. ISAs (Individual Savings Accounts) are a tax-free way to save and invest up to £20,000 annually and we currently have the cash, stocks & shares, innovative finance and lifetime ISAs to choose from.

Today the Chancellor announced a new British ISA with its own £5000 allowance to be invested in British companies. NS&I (National Savings and Investments, the government-backed savings institution) also announced a 3 year British Savings Bond.

A change which many campaigned for was adjustments to the Child Benefit High Income Charge. Currently, those families in which an individual earns over £50,000 is liable for the charge where they have to repay some of their child benefit with those earning over £70,000 currently receiving no child benefit.

This has been seen to be grossly unfair and is an area the Chancellor tackled for reform in today’s budget. The thresholds have been raised to £60,000 for the introduction of the charge and £80,000 for the taper after which you receive no child benefit.

By April 2026, Child Benefit will be assessed based on household earnings rather than individuals which should make the system fairer.

Finally, the Chancellor froze fuel and alcohol duty which means people may see lower prices at the pump and in shops.

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What did you think to the budget? Do comment your thoughts below.