Budget will 'put money back in pockets' - minster

The forthcoming budget aims to "put money back in people's pockets" in the year ahead, the treasury minister has said.

Alex Allinson is due to deliver the financial plan for the Isle of Man for 2025-26 during the February sitting of Tynwald on Tuesday.

He said it would "honour many commitments made last year" in terms of looking at the personal allowances, and national insurance and child benefit thresholds.

It follows a 2% hike in the higher rate of income tax in the 2024-25 budget, while was earmarked to help cover rising costs in health.

But plans to replace the the "triple lock" state pension for some Manx residents have already been removed from the budget following criticism from MHKs.

Allinson said the plan would "try to deliver on the Island Plan to put significant investment in things that people really care about such as infrastructure, housing, education, and health and social care".

He said the measures he would outline would try to "restore the balance that has been disrupted" by the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine, which led to an increase in inflation and the cost of living, by "putting money back in people's' pockets".

Tuesday's budget aimed to "cater to the needs of working people, and particularly working people with families", the minister said.

In January, Allinson outlined plans to bring forward a "double lock guarantee" for those who retired after 5 April 2019 as part of the 2025-26 budget to preserve the National Insurance (NI) Fund.

Under the "triple lock" principle, which is currently applied, the state pension sees increases each year in line with the higher of UK CPI inflation, average earnings, or 2.5%.

But a report released in October forecast the NI Fund would be exhausted by 2047-48 if that system continued to be followed.

Ahead of Tuesday's debate, Allinson said he "had to respond to the needs and the wishes" of the MHKs who had raised concerns about a lack of consultation with politicians and the public and and the timeframe of the changes.

A proposed 4.1% rise in both the basic state Retirement Pension and Manx State Pension will now be put forward as part of the budget instead.

The future of the National Insurance scheme will now be debated in April.

The Isle of Man Budget 2025-26 will be delivered by Allinson at 10:00 GMT on Tuesday in the Tynwald Chamber before being debated by politicians.

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