Taxing the Budget –it’s the weekend papers blog
As was only to be expected following Budget week, the money sections of this weekend’s newspapers guided readers through the highs and the lows of the Chancellor’s much-debated policy changes.
Tilting the scoreboard towards tax, there was a nine per cent rise in articles to 21 per cent as the papers drilled down to the finer details of Osborne’s Parliamentary speech. In the Mail on Sunday (@MailOnline) Stephen Womack presented readers with a clear rundown of exactly when and where the core tax changes will bite, whilst Rosie Murray West in The Telegraph (@TeleFinance) explained how to make the cuts work in readers’ favour, with tips on home buying options and Enterprise Investment Schemes.
Looking at the Budget lows Alexandra Goss in The Sunday Times (@thesundaytimes) warned that the supposed gains of a raised tax threshold may not appear quite as kind when ballooning national insurance contributions are taken into account. In Saturday’s Times, Laura Whateley (@LWhateley) highlighted the possible knock-on effect to utility bills if energy companies pass the costs of carbon floor price tax on to already over-stretched households.
Taking a more positive look at post-Budget savings, the biggest cheers were for the return of NS&I’s savings bonds, which were heralded in the Sunday Times (@thesundaytimes) and by Emma Wall in The Telegraph (@TeleFinance) as a bit of good news in the bid to beat inflation. With The Daily Express (@dailyexpressuk) alerting savers to the need to act quickly to avoid the inevitable “stampede”, The Mail on Sunday (@MailOnline) also noted that the certificates are bound to prove popular and may not be around for too long…
Savings still stood tall with 18 per cent (a one per cent drop from last week), but the other topic tallies on the board this week were:
Charity 1%
Credit cards 0%
Fraud/scams 1%
IFAs 0%
Insurance 4%
Investment 22%
Mortgages 10%
Pensions 10%
Property 7%
Regulation 1%
Savings 18%
Tax 21%
Utilities 5%