This Is Money Show

What a mess we’re in. Without too much effort this week, we spotted 10 messes. It was made pretty easy with the fallout from Chancellor Philip Hammond’s first go at a Budget making news all week. His attack on small business was up there with some of the made-up-as-you-go-along nonsense from his predecessor. Hammond learned well from George Osborne. Mess 1 The Budget. Last week we wondered if the whole thing was a joke? It was. The main thrust, a rise in National Insurance contributions for people who don’t have a staff job, is in the bin. This leaves a big gap in the Government finances. They tried austerity, cut taxes for the richest, tried taking it out on small business. None of it has worked. What next? Tax needs to rise somewhere. Mess 2 Ill-thought-out tax tweaks from the past come back to haunt policymakers. A change to flat-rate VAT announced in the last Autumn Statement is about to come into force and will be a further blow to small business. Listen for the great VAT explainer on how it wo