Self-employed tradesman
Stephen Phelps, 53, lives in Yeovil with his wife and three children. He is a
self-employed carpet layer and was recently declared bankrupt. His wife,
Diane, 51, works in the local pub but does not exceed her personal earnings
allowance.
He drives a diesel van every day, often over long distances, looking for work.
They still have 20 years to go on their £976-a-month mortgage. He gets no
state benefits and has had to stop his pension contributions. The family car
is off the road because he cannot afford the tax or an MoT. He is a
nonsmoker and does not drink.
Mr Phelps said that the main concern for the Budget was fuel prices and to get
banks to give loans to small business owners. “Banks should be meeting them
half way and helping them kick-start their business.” The credit crunch
coupled with bankruptcy has been a lethal mix for the family. “We are
struggling every week and scrabbling around wondering if we are going to
have enough money to pay for groceries.”
Impact: Mr Phelps is £65 better off this year because of changes to
income tax bands and national insurance contributions. The 2p increase on
fuel will hit him hard in September because he uses a van for work. His
family car is more than ten years old and he has owned it for 12 months, so
it could be eligible for the scrappage scheme.
Verdict: “I’m disappointed. It’s not going to help me in any way. I
won’t even notice £65 a year. Fuel duty going up makes things more difficult
for self-employed trades people like me. I need my van for work. The
Government already takes 70 per cent of fuel costs in tax.
“I don’t have the money to buy a new car even if I did trade in my old one in
the scrappage scheme and I doubt they would allow me to because my credit
rating is so poor. I can’t believe they haven’t done anything for mortgages
or helping small businesses get loans from banks.” Guilty
Single pensioner
Lindy Wiltshire, 70, is a retired craftswoman who lives in Alton, Hampshire.
She has three children and five grandchildren and is divorced. She lives off
her state pension, plus £3,000 from savings and investments. This should be
more; she had a pension with Equitable Life but her income fell by a third
after the company’s collapse in 1998. The effects of the base-rate reduction
have hit Ms Wiltshire, too. She said: “I would just let my savings tick up
before, but now I have to take money out to pay for things like decorators.”
Ms Wiltshire could not afford to heat her home this winter despite the rise
in fuel allowance she received last November. She said: “Living in a
stone-cold house this year wasn’t much fun at all.” She still pays npower
£25 a month.
Impact: Ms Wiltshire will be worse off by £30 a year, largely because
of increased fuel duty. She relies on her car and has already tried to
reduce the amount she drives. She said: “I drive to see my children and I
like to visit London to go to galleries and concerts. It will be
prohibitively expensive with another rise in the cost of fuel.”
Verdict: Although she cannot benefit directly from the proposed “granny
credit” for childcare, she welcomes it as a much deserved reward “for all
the decades of hard work grandparents put in”. Her five grandchildren are
aged between 3 and 16 and she believes it is time that those who take care
of their families “are recognised by the Government”. Guilty
Disabled worker
Jill Mahler is an access adviser. Although she has been unable to work this
year because of ill health, she hopes to find employment again soon. She
lives in Dorchester and, with an Olympic site near by in Weymouth, there
could be opportunities for her before 2012.
She is living off a pension, a small savings account and allowances and has
been badly hit by falling interest rates. Energy bills have also proved a
big drain on her resources. “I try to live within my income and not draw on
my savings. A few bills have really hit recently, like the gas,” she said.
“I have had to cut back on my driving because of fuel costs, too. I have
always been a great one for going to the seaside but not any more.”
Impact: £109 a year better off. That includes the extention of the more
generous winter fuel allowance for another year, but she loses out because
petrol duty will go up by another 2p in September and she needs to use the
car. She will also be able to save more in her Isa, if she has the cash.
Verdict: “It all seems a bit woolly. There is no clear energy policy
here, just a bit on renewables and on wind farms. It doesn’t add up to much.
Until they sort this out energy bills they will remain one of my biggest
problems. An extra 2p on petrol really penalises rural drivers like me and
while it is all very well allowing older people to invest more in Isas, they
have to have the money to put into them in the first place.” Not
Guilty
Company director
Marcus and Joanna Smith live in Wimbledon with their three sons, Charlie 16,
Jamie, 14, and Ben, 11. Mr Smith, 45, is the director of a PR agency and
pays tax at the higher rate. A large portion of his salary goes on school
fees. Mrs Smith, 49, is a teaching assistant. They have benefited from
falling mortgage rates but their Isas, Peps and unit trusts have taken a
hit.
Impact: £376 a year better off. The family benefit from the higher
threshold for basic rate tax, but lose on the alignment of national
insurance rates and increase in fuel duty.
Verdict: “I am more concerned about the new 50 per cent tax rate. They
are taxing the very people we are relying on to get us out of the
recession,” Mr Smith said. Not Guilty
Art dealer
John Brandler, 54, an art dealer, lives in Brentwood, Essex, with his partner
Linda Rodrigues, who is retired.
He takes home a modest income from the art gallery that he runs, and
supplements this with interest from savings. “Savers are being penalised and
art buyers are reluctant to commit because they are scared of low interest
rates,” he said.
The couple, used to planning trips to Paris or New York, are holidaying in
Pangbourne and Shepton Mallet this year. Mr Brandler still has a glass of
brandy several times a week but takes a packed lunch to work, rather than
buying expensive sandwiches.
Impact: Better off by about £1.
Verdict: “I will be sure to spend my extra pound wisely.” He pays
£4,500 a year in business rates, and thinks that Mr Darling has failed to do
anything to help his business flourish in the face of recession. “Big
businesses are fine. They can afford good accountants. It is the small
businessman who continues to be stung,” he said. Guilty
