Families across Torbay can look forward to having more money in their pockets, thanks to a range of new Government measures coming into effect this week.
- Giving 32 million people an income tax cut, including 52,586 people in Torquay and Paignton, meaning people can keep more of what they earn, on average £1,205.
- Freezing fuel duty for the ninth successive year saving the typical driver saving the average car driver £1,000 by 2020 compared to Labour’s plans.
- Giving a £690 annual pay increase to over 2.4 million workers through the National Living Wage – benefiting around 138,000 people across the South West
- Increasing the full State Pension by 2.6 per cent this year, meaning pensioners will get nearly £170 more a year.
From the start of the new tax year on 6 April, the personal tax allowance for income tax has increased to £12,500, an increase of £650. This means a basic rate taxpayer will pay over £1,200 less income tax than they did in 2010, giving people more money in their pockets.
Income tax cuts have taken 1.74 million of the lowest paid workers out of paying income tax altogether and taken 230,000 people out of the higher rate 40% tax bracket since 2015.
As well as cutting taxes for millions of people a year earlier than planned, fuel duty has been frozen for a ninth year in a row, saving those who use a car to travel to work and visit family thousands of pounds.
From 1 April new rates of the National Living Wage will rise again, from £7.83 to £8.21, a 4.9 per cent increase – handing a full-time worker a further £690 annual pay increase and taking their total pay-rise, since the introduction of the National Living Wage, to over £2,750 a year.
Torbay’s MP Kevin Foster said: “Thousands of workers across our bay are now able to keep more of what they have earned, helping their family and our economy to prosper.”
