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2019 Autumn Budget: updates to your website

25/10/19 Breaking news: The Autumn Budget 2019 scheduled for 6/11/19 has been cancelled.

Full details

Chancellor Sajid Javid had announced that he would deliver the Autumn Budget on 6 November, less than a week after the UK is scheduled to leave the EU. It would have been Mr Javid's first Budget since taking office in July. But with the current Brexit chaos still rumbling on, will the Budget even take place?

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Announcing the Budget date, the Chancellor confirmed that the government was “committed to securing a deal and leaving [the EU] on 31 October.” However, in the event of a no-deal, he said the government would “act quickly to outline [its] approach and take early action to support the economy, businesses and households.” If this is the case, it's believed that the speech on 6 November will be replaced by an economic statement, with the main Budget following several weeks later.

 

What can we expect from this year's Budget?

Whatever happens, the 2019 Budget is set to be an interesting one. For a start, many people are expecting the new Chancellor to break away from predecessor 'spreadsheet Phil's' cautious approach to the public finances.

Mr Javid has said he will use the Budget to set out the government's “plan to shape the economy for the future” and to trigger “the start of our infrastructure revolution”. There's widespread speculation that he'll loosen the public purse strings to achieve this. Let's not forget that in the Spending Review in August, the Chancellor announced the biggest increase in spending for 15 years, declaring that the government had “turned the page on austerity”. It means that we could be in for some headline-grabbing spending announcements and pre-election tax cuts in Mr Javid's first Budget.

As usual, the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) will publish its economic forecasts alongside the Budget. But the fiscal watchdog finds itself in a tricky position this year, having been told to prepare its forecasts on the basis that the UK leaves the EU with a deal – something that's currently far from certain.

Updates to your website

So, where does that leave accountancy firms? Well, with talk of spending boosts and Budget giveaways, there should be plenty of measures to tell your clients about. The good news is that we will take care of this for you, as all of our accWEBSITE customers' sites (Mercia totalSOLUTION and Practice Track Online) are updated automatically with the key Budget announcements.

How we work

Following the Chancellor's speech, which usually takes place at around 12.30pm, the editorial teams at both Mercia and Practice Track will start dissecting the Budget document and accompanying notes and press releases. They'll also keep an eye on the media coverage to monitor the business and political reactions to the Chancellor's announcements.

Throughout the afternoon and evening, we'll post up various news items on your site which will focus on the key announcements and reactions to the Chancellor's speech. Our detailed Budget Report summary will then be published on your website, ready for your clients to read the next morning.

Budget email newswire

We'll also send out a special branded email newswire directly to your clients' inboxes the morning after the Budget. This will include a link to a detailed Budget summary on your website. The newswire will also encourage your clients to contact you, as their accountant, for advice on how the Budget changes may affect their business and personal finances.

To ensure all of your clients and prospects receive the Budget newswire, please make sure your newswire contact lists are up to date. This can be done in the contactMANAGER section of your website, which is accessed via controlPANEL*.

Despite the ongoing political and economic uncertainty, one thing is clear – the Budget remains a major fiscal event that you need to be talking to your clients about.

All of our Budget content is written specifically with accountants' clients in mind and is included as standard for our accWEBSITE customers. Learn more about our accWEBSITE service here.

 

*controlPANEL logins:

 

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