Last week’s fiscal statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer focuses on a new approach to shift the Government’s emphasis onto economic growth. As a government we will expand the supply side of the economy through tax cuts and reform, tackle the immediate energy crisis, remove barriers for business and build the infrastructure that we need to grow the British economy.
Our Growth Plan delivers the biggest set of tax cuts in 50 years. High taxes damage Britain’s competitiveness and reduce incentives to work. That is why we are bringing forward the 1 percentage point cut to the Basic Rate of Income Tax to April 2023 and reversing the increase in National Insurance Contributions.
We are also doubling the level at which Stamp Duty is paid from £125,000 to £250,000, and expanding First Time Buyers’ Relief, by increasing the level at which first-time buyers start paying Stamp Duty from £300,000 to £425,000.
We will publish a list of infrastructure projects that will be accelerated, complemented by a renewed focus to speed up projects through new legislation. This will streamline the complex patchwork of restrictions and EU-derived laws which have held Britain back over decades.
Putin’s weaponisation of gas prices is the biggest drag on growth in the short-term. The government acted at the start of September to announce the Energy Price Guarantee, to ensure that a typical household in Great Britain pays an average £2,500 a year on their energy bill for the next two years, from 1 October 2022.
We promised we would cut taxes and we have with lower rates of business and personal tax. We promised to prioritise growth and we have with new investment zones and a renewed focus on infrastructure. We promised to release the enormous potential of this country and we have done just that. Our Growth Plan has delivered on all those promises.