‘We make £100,000. The cut to cash Isa limit is a big blow’

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced her budget after weeks of speculation.

changes These include a freeze on income tax thresholds, a new electric vehicle tax, limits on tax-free cash savings and a mansion tax.

BBC News hears from people on a range of incomes what they think about the measures announced in the Budget.

If there are topics you would like to be discussed, you can contact us via . BBC Your Voice.

Neal Stead and his wife, Tara, work in management; Neal is in a communications center and Tara is in a hospital.

Neal, whose total income is around £100,000 and has paid off the mortgage on their house in Bradford, says they are not under huge financial pressure. But at 58, he’s worried about retiring.

He said he was disappointed that the amount of money that can be saved tax-free each year in a cash Isa (Individual Savings Account) will be reduced from £20,000 to £12,000 a year for people under 65.

“This is a big blow to me because I’m a saver and I’m approaching retirement,” he says, adding that he feels punished for putting aside money for a more comfortable retirement.

“The message I get is spend your money, don’t worry about the future,” he says.

Neal says he feels the Budget is being sold as a measure to cover living costs, but says: “For me, I don’t see living costs going down, just going up.

“I’ll have less in my pocket than there was yesterday.”

Kat Watkins lives in Swansea and works for Disabled People Wales. Her earnings make up just under two-thirds of her income and she receives universal credit and personal independence payment (Pip).

Kat has osteogenesis imperfecta type 3, known as brittle bone disease, and says she faces higher energy bills because she needs to charge her wheelchair and other equipment.

He said the budget was not a “total disaster” and welcomed the end of some energy taxes, which the chancellor said would reduce the bills of millions of households by £150 a year.

However, Kat disagrees with the Chancellor’s changes to the Motability plan; This means that “luxury” cars like BMW will no longer be available.

For a person to qualify for Motability, Pip must have a higher mobility rate; Kat says it’s “extremely difficult” to achieve.

Last week Kat applied for a new car under Motability, which helps disabled people rent a car. He says the only car that suits his needs is a Mercedes Vito with a wheelchair lift in the back.

“It’s a very scary thought; if I had waited another week, I wouldn’t have gotten this,” he says.

Kat says there is a lot of misinformation about Motability: “If someone wants a luxury car… they’re not going to get it for free.”

Motability customers pay additional fees for a premium vehicle.

Steve Williams is an IT contractor and his wife is a consultant. Both are self-employed and estimate they earn a total of £150,000 a year.

They live in Basingstoke and both drive electric vehicles (EV).

Steve says he doesn’t mind the idea of ​​paying per mile.

“What I care about is that there is already a tax on electric vehicles,” he says, pointing to the annual vehicle excise tax.

If someone had a Tesla Model 3, he says, they would pay annual vehicle tax, luxury car tax on cars worth more than £40,000, VAT on electricity and now 3p per mile.

He added that electric vehicle owners could pay more for home electricity if they were subject to a green tariff.

“I don’t mind paying for the use of the roads and I think paying per kilometer is a relatively fair way to go,” he says.

“[But] In the first place, there was great pressure from the government to get people to use electric vehicles. Now they are punishing those who actually captured them.”

Deborah Crowley, 63, works 33 hours a week as an NHS manager. He recently sold his house and now lives in Sheffield with his son.

He says he is satisfied with some measures in the budget. reduction in the amount of money people can sacrifice on salary They are transferred into pensions before National Insurance pays out.

“I believe there are many people who can afford the extra tax,” he says, adding that adding “mansion taxes” to homes valued over £2 million would help the NHS and local communities.

But he was unhappy that the freeze on income tax thresholds had been extended until 2031, as it meant both he and his son would see a “backdoor tax increase” at that time.

He thinks the Chancellor should introduce Universal Credit spending vouchers for larger families rather than removing the two-child benefit limit.

Wesley Thorne, 52, and his wife Toni live near Bristol with their two daughters.

Overall, he feels there is little in the budget for his family and that it’s “not something to get excited about.”

They wanted a bigger house and hoped Rachel Reeves would freeze or reduce stamp duty.

Stamp duty is a tax payable in England and Northern Ireland if you buy property or land above a certain price.

However, as the Chancellor has not reduced these rates, Wesley does not expect them to change. “Stamp duty would cost us £15,000 plus fees. That’s ridiculous,” he says.

But it says A customer-funded scheme to abolish green taxes and finance insulation “It will definitely help a little bit, that’s a positive” from energy bills.

Wesley and Toni run an online sweet shop and market stall. Wesley says he sees “nothing to encourage small businesses” in the Budget.

Cost pressures “have never been this bad,” he told us before the budget. He was hoping for some support to help cover the increase in the minimum wage.

“Everyone who wins is under pressure,” Wesley said.

Fatima Tehan Jalloh is a single mother living in social housing in north London. He is a level 4 apprentice construction site supervisor.

She says she is frustrated by the lack of help with child care bills and the lack of adequate measures to reduce living costs.

The Chancellor has announced an end to some energy bill levies, which he says will cut the bills of millions of households by £150 a year.

But Fatima, who uses a prepaid meter, says she tries to use as little electricity as possible, so she doesn’t think she’ll notice a difference.

The budget also included a freeze on train fares in England, but Fatima says prices are “already too high”.

“I have family in Derby and the train ticket is £150, so whether or not that price is frozen I can’t afford to see them,” he says.

He says he is angry at the government for failing to deliver on its promise to turn around Britain’s fortunes. “I will never vote Labor again,” he says.

“I’m thinking of moving… my quality of life is nothing,” he says.