ACCORDING TO

Andrew Griffiths MP for Burton

APRIL is the cruellest month, according to T. S. Eliot, and whether you agree with him or not, one thing that it does bring every year is changes to pay and tax for workers in Burton and Uttoxeter and across the country.

But far from being cruel, this April brings good financial news for millions. Figures that have just been released show that 54,355 people in Burton and Uttoxeter will be having a tax cut from this month, as the Government has increased the personal allowance to £12,500. The personal allowance is the amount of money that you can earn before you start paying tax, and this increase allows hard working families to keep more of the money they earn.

Thanks to these changes, on average a taxpayer now pays £1,205 less in tax a year than they did in 2010. Across the whole country, 32 million people will benefit from this, and it will make a difference to the finances of families all over.

The changes to the personal allowance that the Government has introduced since 2010 also mean that 1.74 million more people have been taken out of paying tax altogether.

These are people on the lowest incomes, earning less than £12,500 a year, and they now no longer have to pay any tax at all.

There is also good news for people on the lowest pay this April. The National Living Wage has been increased from £7.83 per hour to £8.21 per hour, giving a full-time worker on the National Living Wage an extra £690 per year. More than two million workers around the country are benefitting from this increase in pay, so this change will make an impact for a huge number of people.

Pensioners have also seen a boost this April with pensions going up by 2.6 per cent, giving our senior citizens an extra £170 this year. There is also good news for those earning a bit more too as the Government has also increased the threshold of the 40 per cent rate of tax to £50,000, meaning that nearly one million fewer people now have to pay the higher rate of tax.

All these changes to the tax system that have come into effect from this month show the Government’s commitment to helping hard-working people, and especially those who are on lower incomes. It also reminds us that there are things other than Brexit going on, which is something that can be all too easily forgotten as it continues to dominate the headlines and the agenda in Parliament. ■■The views and opinions of guest columnists do not necessarily represent those of either the Burton Mail or its staff

Pensioners have also been given a boost this April, with pensions going up by 2.6 per cent, giving our senior citizens an extra £170 this year

Andrew Griffiths MP