Theresa Villiers, MP for Barnet has welcomed measures in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement to help small businesses, the economy and family budgets.
Speaking after the statement in Parliament, Ms Villiers said: “A few weeks’ ago, I was part of a group of MPs invited to meet the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to feed in ideas for his Autumn Statement. One of the issues I highlighted was the need to help small high street businesses, so there is much to welcome in today’s announcement.”
“That includes reductions in business rates, including for hospitality businesses. I know that the 2p cut in National Insurance will help hard working families who have had a difficult time with cost of living pressures.”
“The Government has taken long term decisions in the national interest. That has helped halve inflation as promised by the Prime Minister. We are also on course to get debt falling as a proportion of our economy.”
She continued, “This marks a major moment as we change gear and focus on how to push up growth in the decade ahead by offering the biggest set of tax cuts in a single statement since the 1980s.”
The Autumn Statement will:
- Cut taxes for 27 million working people from January by reducing the main rate of National Insurance Contributions from 12 per cent to 10 per cent. For the average worker earning £35,000 a year, that means a £450 tax cut.
- Cut and simplify tax for 2 million of the self-employed, abolishing an entire class of NICs and cutting the rate of the NICs top rate from 9 per cent to 8 per cent – with an average total saving of around £350 for someone earning £28,000 a year.
- Cut business taxes by £11 billion – the biggest business tax cut in modern British history by permanently enabling businesses to invest for less and offset investments against their tax bills.
- Reduce debt, with the OBR forecasting we will meet our fiscal rule to have debt falling as a share of the economy a year early.
- Cut business rates by freezing the small business multiplier yet again, saving an average shop £1,650, and extending the Retail Hospitality and Leisure Relief for a year.
- Boost the National Living Wage to record levels: £11.44 an hour. That is a 9.8 per cent increase, benefiting 2.7 million workers.
- Help the most vulnerable with an average income boost of £800. 1.6 million of the families most struggling with the cost of living will have their Local Housing Allowance increased.
- Boost pensions, in line with our Triple Lock, by 8.5 per cent. This means the basic State Pension will be £3,750 higher than in 2010.
- Freeze alcohol duty, alleviating pressure on the hospitality sector.
- Increase all working age benefits in full by 6.7 per cent, boosting benefit payments for around 5.5 million households who receive Universal Credit – by an average of £470 a year.
- Provide support with the cost of living with further Cost of Living Payments this year, helping more than 8 million UK households on eligible means-tested-benefits, 8 million pensioner households and 6 million people across the UK on eligible disability benefits.
