Budget Blues or Moving Mania?

With another budget looming, many of you will be dreading the upcoming budget especially after companies were hit when she increased employer national insurance contributions. After bringing in £38 billion pounds in tax increases if she does the same this year she will become the biggest tax raising chancellor in history! This comes despite Labour's pledge at the general election to not raise taxes for working people, it is heavily rumoured she will raise income tax! She told journalists in a pre-budget questionnaire “each of us must do our bit” a vastly different statement to what she said after the last budget. When asked if she would have to break her manifesto pledge not to increase income tax the Chancellor of the Exchequer refused to give an outright yes or no. There are a considerable amount of clips ,tweets and interviews of her saying she will not raise income tax therefore if she does it would totally erode trust among voters and would bear a heavy political cost. Let’s dive deeper into how some potential taxes could affect the moving industry and how they could redefine our busiest periods, our client base and even our operational strategies.

A potential “mansion tax” this is perhaps the most talked about, my first blog on here was written about a similar tax. This would be a tax on high value homes, if they were to introduce a tax on high value homes. I would expect a frantic rush of high net worth individuals trying to sell and complete their moves before the new rules come into effect in April. This would lead to a sudden intense surge in demand for larger removals jobs requiring more trucks of course the larger companies will benefit temporarily.Some companies may need to purchase more vehicles to keep up with the surge however should only do so knowing the surge will not sustain forever. This would be great for business between December and April however in the long term would be catastrophic it could significantly cool the top end of the market. Homeowners may become trapped in their properties, be reluctant to sell and incur a tax bill.  

Raising income tax would take money out of people's pockets, meaning people will have less disposable income to save for moving home. People who are moving home may look to hire vans instead of opting to use a removal company, choosing to pack their own boxes instead of paying for a packing service. The list goes on. 

Inheritance tax, it is rumoured Labour will be tightening rules around gifting such as extending the 7 year rule to 10 years or introducing a lifetime cap on gifts. Even though the family members who are handing down properties would have paid a significant tax on them already! Changes to inheritance tax can influence how quickly estates are settled. Often removals companies will come into a family’s estate and re-distribute the furniture/ items to different family members,storage and auctions.

Ultimately this budget will be a pivotal moment for the UK economy whether that be for better or worse, and its ripple effects will undoubtedly be felt across the housing market and by extension the house removals industry.

What are your thoughts? Do you & and your company anticipate a budget induced moving frenzy or a market slowdown? I’m interested to know your thoughts below!