One of the clearest examples is the continued freeze on personal tax thresholds. “These allowances have been stuck since 2021 and now won’t move until 2028,” she noted. “If they had simply kept up with inflation, the personal allowance would be around £14,700 today, instead, it remains at £12,570.” The result, she explained, is that millions are now being taxed on income they wouldn’t have been touched by just a few years ago, a phenomenon widely known as fiscal drag.
The episode also explored the government’s significant shift in pension policy. From 2029, both employers and employees will pay National Insurance on any salary-sacrifice pension contributions above £2,000 per year, a change Rachael warns could remove a key incentive for offering quality pension schemes. “Salary sacrifice has been a vital tool for long-term planning,” she said. “Once employers feel the benefit disappear, many will question whether it’s worth offering at all.”
Further discussion focused on employment costs, particularly the removal of apprenticeship course contributions for under-25s, a headline that initially appears supportive. However, as Rachael pointed out, the accompanying rise in apprentice wage rates and the increased National Living Wage mean that employers ultimately face higher payroll costs. And when employment becomes more expensive, she added, prices inevitably rise at the till.
The episode then turned to a major theme of this year’s Budget: a government-driven shift away from property and cash savings and towards stock-market investment. Measures such as capping the Cash ISA allowance at £12,000 and removing stamp duty on UK shares in the London stock exchange for three years indicate a clear desire to reshape household saving behaviours. “For most Brits, property and business ownership have always been the main routes to building wealth,” Rachael explained. “This Budget makes it clear we’re being steered into a very different financial culture.”
On transport policy, Rachael described the introduction of per-mile taxation for electric vehicles as “a complete policy contradiction,” questioning how such a system could be monitored and why the government would simultaneously invest in charging infrastructure while discouraging EV ownership through new usage charges.
Meanwhile, delays to enforcing customs duty on imported parcels until 2029 drew criticism for allowing several more years of lost tax revenue in the fast-fashion and online-shopping sectors. Added to this were concerns about welfare changes, the newly introduced mansion tax for properties valued at £2 million or more, and reductions to business reliefs such as writing-down allowances.
The final boot comes down hard: taxes on property profits, savings, and dividends are all set to increase by 2% from 2026. For anyone running a business, investing for the future, or building wealth through sensible financial planning, this is nothing short of a direct hit.
It’s not just a tax rise… it’s an undeniable attack on entrepreneurship and long-term financial independence. These are the very income streams that founders, investors, landlords, and self-employed individuals rely on to grow, reinvest, and sustain their businesses. By squeezing them further, the government is effectively penalising the people who take risks, create jobs, and drive economic growth.
Overall, Rachael summarised the Budget as “a series of gestures that sound helpful until you look closely,” arguing that many of the changes amount to behavioural steering rather than genuine support. “Spend how they want. Save where they tell you. Drive what they tax. And whatever you build, they will take a cut,” she concluded. “The message is clear, this isn’t support, it’s control.”
The regular series of For Finance’s Sake podcasts from Chadwick’s is available on Spotify, Amazon, YouTube, Apple and Podbean. For more information, go to the website at www.chadwickaccountants.co.uk
