RISHI Sunak will deliver his Budget to the nation at lunchtime today.
The Chancellor will stand up in the Commons and reveal the extra Covid help which will continue for millions of Brits.
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He is likely to carry on furlough, loans, Universal Credit grants and other pandemic support for months until businesses can fully recover.
The Chancellor traditionally stands outside No11 Downing Street in the morning to show off his red box with his Budget documents inside.
He will announce his Budget from 12.30pm, after PMQs.
At 5pm, he will give a press conference to the nation where he’ll take questions from the public.
Mr Sunak will promise struggling Brits with the “full measure of our fiscal firepower” but warn the time is approaching to “begin fixing the public finances.”
12.30PM BUDGET
The Chancellor will vow to use every tool in his box “to protect the jobs and livelihoods of the British people.”
Ahead of the Budget, Mr Sunak said: “Our Covid support schemes have been a lifeline to millions, protecting jobs and incomes across the UK.
“There’s now light at the end of the tunnel with a roadmap for reopening, so it’s only right that we continue to help business and individuals through the challenging months ahead – and beyond.”
At every Budget the public get an update of the public spending on the cards.
The Chancellor’s vow “to do whatever it takes” to protect jobs will add £5 billion a month to the pandemic’s £280 billion support bill.
But with the nation’s coffers reeling from the Covid crisis, Mr Sunak is staring at £400 billion blackhole.
The chief bean counter will set out “a three-point plan to protect jobs” – but also give the nation a reality check over the dire economic situation left in the wake of the pandemic.
But he will also warn today that the time to get the nation’s books in order is rapidly approaching.
It is expected that will see a hike in corporation tax on businesses and capital gains taxes on millionaire second property owners and investors.
He will suggest that taxes may have to rise in future to pay back the mounting debts.
It’s also thought Mr Sunak will freeze the rates at which workers start to pay different levels of income tax, meaning more people will be caught in a higher band over the coming years.
We know for certain the Chancellor will extend furlough until September.
FURLOUGH EXTENDED
It means 80 per cent of people’s wages will continue to be paid for months to come, to help firms get back on their feet again.
The Chancellor will also reveal that hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom became self-employed in 2019-20, will now be able to claim direct cash grants under the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.
The Treasury has also confirmed that they will give a fourth grant of up to £7,500 to the self-employed.
Meanwhile, business loans and grants are expected to carry on for months.
It’s also been rumoured that the Chancellor will continue the stamp duty holiday for another six months as well to stop the housing market from falling off a cliff.
A £20 a week Universal Credit uplift in payments has also been extended for another six months for low income households.
Extra measures may be on the cards to help firms who have struggled throughout rolling lockdowns – including high street shops and pubs.
Fuel duty will be frozen at this week’s Budget for the TENTH year running in a major victory for the Sun’s legendary Keep It Down campaign.
