Last month Money Matters wrote to the Chancellor asking him to be considerate in his Budget towards those individuals and businesses struggling with the effects of the pandemic. There was a lot of talk pre-Budget about tax-raising measures to re-balance the books but we implored him not to do too much too soon.

If the Chancellor had responded, it would have been along the lines of:

“Dear Money Matters, thank you for your insightful and balanced view of the need for ongoing support to businesses and individuals in the current economic climate. You will be delighted to know that I have delivered my Budget in line with your thinking.

All of the support measures that the government has had in place for the last 12 months will be continued into the summer and in some cases beyond. We have retained many of them in their original format; with others we have extended or amended the scope of the support positively.

Furlough continues for another three months and self-employed support for even longer. It will also be available to those who only started their self-employment last year, enabling even more people to benefit. I gave some thought to your idea of helping those people running small businesses through limited companies, but I haven’t supported them thus far, so I don’t see why I should start now.

As you pointed out last month, now is not the time to start recouping the government’s deficit in providing this support. I have resisted the temptation to introduce any tax rises at the present time. I cannot afford to do that in the long-term and therefore I have set out my own road map for businesses and individuals to start contributing to the Treasury’s coffers over the next few years.

Thank you again, your input was greatly appreciated. If you want a job in the Treasury, just give me a call.”

Ok, so he probably wouldn’t make the last offer, but at least he’s continued support and put off the evil day when we all have to start paying for it.