What to expect from a Boris Johnson premiership

Boris Johnson has been confirmed as Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister, ending months of speculation.

Johnson beat rival Jeremy Hunt in the race to replace Theresa May.

Here are some of his key financial policies.

Brexit

Sorting the UK’s exit from the European Union is top of Johnson’s to do list.

He has promised a “do or die” Brexit, committing himself to taking the country out of the EU without a deal if there is no agreement by October 31.

Johnson was confident throughout his leadership campaign that he could renegotiate the withdrawal agreement but there are also fears that he could postpone Parliament to push a no deal Brexit through.

There are doubts about whether there is enough time to renegotiate a deal before the October 31 deadline.

Azad Zangana, Senior European Economist at Schroders, said: “Johnson has said that he will attempt to renegotiate the Withdrawal Agreement, especially the section on the so-called Irish backstop.

Europe has held firm on the all aspects of the Withdrawal Agreement, but has hinted that the section on the future relationship could be re-opened.

“In any case, we highly doubt that Johnson will succeed in securing any significant changes in the time that he has. Both Parliament and much of Europe are about to break for summer recesses, which will then be followed by party conference season in September. In reality, there are a mere few weeks for Johnson’s team to complete negotiations before the 31 October Brexit deadline.

There have been concerns that a no deal Brexit could cause house prices to plummet and banks may tighten their lending criteria during times of economic uncertainty.

The Bank of England has previously warned that a no deal Brexit could create economic volatility, which makes it all the more important that your investment portfolio is diversified and geared for the long-term.

Increasing the higher-rate income tax threshold to £80,000Currently, you pay income tax of 40 per cent on earnings above £50,000.

Johnson has pledged to raise the higher rate threshold (HRT) to £80,000, which should technically give those earning less more take home pay after tax.

There are warnings that this would be expensive and would mainly benefit high earners.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies said: “Increasing the HRT costs about £9 billion and benefits the 4 million or so income taxpayers with the highest incomes. Most of the gain goes to those in the top 10% of the income distribution would gain an average of nearly £2,500 a year.

“Raising the HRT to £80,000 straightaway would take about 2.5 million people out of higher rate tax, taking the number of higher rate taxpayers down to its lowest level since 1990. This would constitute a major change to our income tax system.”

Stamp duty overhaul

There are almost weekly announcements by Government ministers about the need to tackle the housing crisis.

There is already the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme and a stamp duty exemption for first-time buyers.

Johnson has pledged to help all types of buyers by scrapping stamp duty for homes worth less than £500,000.

This has been welcomed by estate agents as a solution to get the market moving, but there is a risk that it stalls while buyers await the changes.

• The value of an investment and any income from it can fall as well as rise and you may not get back the original amount invested.
• Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance and should not be relied upon.
• HM Revenue and Customs practice and the law relating to taxation are complex and subject to individual circumstances and changes which cannot be foreseen