Sussex Residents’ Perspectives on the Upcoming Budget

The Prime Minister has stated that the upcoming autumn budget is designed to support working individuals. During the recent general election campaign, the Labour party committed to not raising income tax, employee national insurance contributions, or VAT. However, questions remain regarding whether working residents in Sussex believe they are adequately safeguarded. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is scheduled to present the budget at 12:30 GMT on Wednesday. Andy Sparsis, owner of The Fish Factory restaurants located in Worthing and Littlehampton, indicated that a potential increase in employers’ national insurance contributions would incur an additional £10,000 cost for his business. He further noted that the discontinuation of the 75% discount on his business rates would result in another £10,000 expense. Sparsis also expressed apprehension regarding a potential increase in the minimum wage. He stated: “Allow us to expand, allow us to employ people, allow us to survive and please do not remove the business rate relief, otherwise you will see mass closures.” Charitable organizations assert that to maintain their operations, they require exemption from such policy adjustments. Maria Antoniou, representing Community Works, an organization that assists not-for-profit and community groups across Brighton and Hove and West Sussex, commented: “Organisations just can’t absorb the cost, they will be letting staff go which means working people will be losing their jobs. “And they’ll be asking staff to do more which is just detrimental to working people’s wellbeing.” A question posed this week regarding whether landlords qualify as working people proved challenging for government leaders to address. Gary Waller, who owns eight properties in Brighton primarily leased to students, is anticipated to face potential increases in capital gains tax, stamp duty, and inheritance tax, a prospect shared by other homeowners. He stated: “It is very much a full-time job. I’ve had people text me at 4 in the morning.“You’ve got to make a profit doing all this and sometimes it can be quite tight. Ultimately, no-one has to be a landlord, they can sell up and they can go and do something else.” Angela Steatham, a resident of Chichester, expressed her view that an opportunity to levy taxes on the highest earners has been overlooked. She remarked: “The tax burden falls on those at the end of the scale with less. I feel like they are avoiding going after the big companies, like energy companies and banks, because they want an economy for growth and they don’t want to scare them off.“But as a Labour voter I’m disappointed that they’re not taking those harder decisions.”