Sir Nicholas Soames MP has welcomed the news that ordinary working families in Mid Sussex are set to benefit from a range of Government measures coming into effect this week.

From this month, the tax-free personal allowance will rise for the seventh year to £11,500, benefitting around 56,704 ** people in Mid Sussex and meaning a typical basic rate taxpayer will pay a full £1,000 less income tax than in 2010.

As a result of the Government’s changes to the personal allowance and higher rate threshold, 4,590,000 individuals in the South East gain on average £205, and a total of 174,000 individuals will have been taken out of income tax altogether, compared to 2015-16.

In addition:

·        The National Living Wage – which delivered a pay rise to a million people last year – will rise again to £7.50: an income boost of over £500 for a full time worker in Mid Sussex.

·        The Government will provide up to £2,000 a year per child through the roll out of tax-free childcare, to help with childcare costs for families in Mid Sussex.

·        Hard-pressed savers will get a boost, with access to our new market-leading NS&I bond which will pay 2.2% on deposits up to £3,000.

Sir Nicholas Soames said; “We’ve come a long way in the last seven years – there are 2.8 million more people in work, unemployment is at its lowest for twelve years and we’ve cut income tax for over 30 million people, but there is more to do to help people locally and across the UK feel the benefits of the recovery and make ends meet.

“By giving the lowest paid a wage boost, taking more people out of income tax, boosting savings and helping with the cost of childcare, we’re putting ordinary working people at the heart of our plan for Britain: to build a stronger, fairer economy that works for everyone”.

Notes

·        The Personal Allowance is rising to £11,500 from Thursday 6 April 2017. The personal allowance is rising from £11,000 and will increase to £12,500 by the end of the Parliament. Since 2010, the Government has taken action to reduce taxes and enable working people to keep more of what they earn. We are building on this progress by increasing the personal allowance by more than inflation for the seventh consecutive year (HM Treasury, Income Tax: personal allowance and basic rate limit for 2017 to 2018, 16 March 2016, link; HM Treasury, Spring Budget 2017, 8 March 2017).

·        Helping people keep more of what they earn. Someone with a salary of £15,000 pays just £800 a year in tax now compared to £1,705 in 2010. That’s a massive tax cut for 31 million people since 2010 and taking 1.3 million people out of income tax altogether (HM Treasury, Autumn Statement 2016, 23 November 2016. HM Treasury, Spring Budget 2017, 8 March 2017).

**   Local figures

·        These estimates are modelled using regional statistics on the benefits of the April 2017 personal allowance rise from HM Treasury and ONS constituency population statistics. The number of people affected by changes to the personal tax free allowance are modelled since 2010/11.