Jim Shannon MP Autum Budget Announcements and Northern Ireland
Jim Shannon MP speaking after the Chancellor Rachel Reeves MP announcement to Parliament on her fiscal plans said: “Firstly, I want to recognise some of the progress that has been made by the Chancellor.
“Many will know myself and my party have fought very hard on supporting change in the two-child benefit cap. Child poverty levels in Northern Ireland are amongst the highest in the UK, and this will go a long way in tackling poverty among children.
“I also welcome the £370 million that Northern Ireland will receive which I hope will be allocated wisely to essential services which our constituents want, such as health and education.
“However, whist tax thresholds have been frozen, and wages have been given a rise, many working households may be plunged into tax brackets which will ultimately reduce take home pay over time.
“This must be looked at as working people are who are not well off will getting money taken off them monthly and not seeing the benefits of their pay increases.
“Other increases on assets such as property and savings may reduce opportunities for supplementary income, hitting households that rely on savings for exceptional circumstances. This is unfair, and its those who are going out and working extremely hard day to day that will suffer.”
Jim Shannon added: “Although pension payments are rising, over time the frozen threshold could mean more pensioners (especially those with only the State Pension or small additional income) begin paying income tax on their pension, if their pension rises above the threshold.
“In addition, many care home residents rely on small savings and private pensions, freezing or cutting allowances on savings interest could reduce the benefit of such income streams.
“Unfortunately, the issues that matter to the people of this nation and the likes of you, the reader in this area, have not been addressed.
“People care about their wages and many already struggle month to month, this should have been a matter of priority for the Chancellor.
