New chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has just announced the government’s plans to fix the economy, with what has been dubbed a “mini-budget”.
Alongside widely-trailed plans to lift the cap on bankers’ bonuses and cut stamp duty, the government will also abolish the top rate of tax entirely – meaning somebody on £50,000 will pay the same marginal rate of tax as somebody earning £200,000. Meanwhile, Kwarteng also threatened to cut benefits in a bid to “make work pay”.
It’s been branded as trickle-down economics, with tax cuts being used to try and spur growth. After 12 years of Conservative governments, Kwarteng declared: “We are at the beginning of a new era.”
Naturally, the decision to cut taxes for the highest earners has sparked some choice reactions from the internet. Here are the best.
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They’ve really blown the doors off
Half 9 really is too early for this
Kwarteng took…a while to get to the meat of the budget
Presumably it was only parliamentary etiquette that kept Rachel Reeves from responding like this
The mini-budget was, for many Conservatives, an economic dream
As a child, top of my Christmas list was always: ‘Now That’s What I Call Conservative Think Tank Pamphlets 1975-2022’
- Cost of living: tips to help keep your finances in check
- You could be entitled to free money – here’s how to use a benefits calculator to find out
- Ways to make extra money in the cost of living crisis
It makes you wonder: why bother?
At least the mini-budget has some unexpected winners
But equally likely a lot of losers
Amen
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