Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced the budget for 2024 – here’s everything that dental professionals need to know.
Jeremy Hunt revealed the details of the spring budget in the House of Commons today (6 March). Some of the major changes include:
National insurance
The national insurance rate will be cut from 10% to 8% from April.
NHS
A ‘public sector productivity plan’ will be published. It will cover changes including the use of artificial intelligence, digitising hospital processes and improving the NHS.
Vaping tax
A ‘vaping products levy’ will be introduced, taxing imports of vape liquid.
Non-dom tax status
Abolishment of the ‘non-dom’ tax status has been confirmed. It is set to be replaced with a ‘modern, simpler and fairer’ system from April 2025.
Property tax
The higher rate of property capital gains tax will be reduced from 28% to 24%.
ISAs
A new ‘British ISA’ will give savers an extra £5,000 tax-free allowance.
‘Unleash that people power’
Jeremy Hunt said the budget will deliver ‘more investment, more jobs, better public services, and lower taxes.’
Speaking on the decision to lower taxes, he said: ‘Dynamism in an economy doesn’t come from ministers in Whitehall. It comes from the grit and determination of people who take risks, work hard and innovate. Not government policies but people power. It is to unleash that people power that we have today put this country back on the path to lower taxes.’
‘More money back into the pockets of dentists’
The dental profession has responded to the budget and its implications for the dental profession with mixed reaction. Iain Stevenson is head of dental at Wesleyan Financial Services. He said: ‘The cut to National Insurance will put more money back into the pockets of dentists – something hugely valuable at a time when the cost of living is still high.
‘However, the fact that this reduction – for a second time in a row – only applies to employee contributions will keep the pressure on practices, which are still facing rising operating costs across the board, including staffing costs. We would have liked to see some relief extended to them too.’
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