Chancellor’s measures ‘barely enough to scratch the surface’: Will budget bring relief? | Personal Finance | Finance

These comments are only a few in a long line of criticisms of the Chancellor’s measures, with many hoping that the March budget will perhaps reorganise the provisions. 

He noted that the budget speech due on March 23 will be the ideal time for the government to deliver on promises made in the midst of the pandemic that they would “build back better”. 

Mr Sing noted: “There’s a difficult balancing act and we appreciate that. Everyone knows that the financial costs of Covid have been huge, from furlough to vaccines and the decline in GDP.  The current situation with inflation at a 30 year high driven by energy costs, supply chain issues and much else makes things more challenging.”

He shared his predictions for the upcoming budget: “For 2022 we want to see something that alleviates pressure on household budgets, tax rises and inflation, especially fuel costs could depress the demand for goods and services and as an employer we see cost rising and find recruiting good, well educated staff to be  a problem. That’s a long term issue that the UK needs to address if we’re to remain competitive and close the productivity gap.  Anything that encourages investment, in people and technology, would be welcome as well as a fair, simplified tax regime.”

Mr Singh added that he is looking forward to “a practical budget, not a political one” where the country and its people will be put first and to many savers’ dismay, it does not seem that the National Insurance hike is going anywhere.