How important are Jeremy Hunt’s budget decisions to you?

Jeremy Hunt has announced a package of tax cuts and a couple of rises in this week's spring budget, as the Tories seek to shore up support ahead of an expected general election in 2024.

Among the raft of measures announced were a 2p national insurance cut, the scrapping of non-dom status, and an extension of the fuel-duty freeze.

With UK government debt running at £2.65 trillion – nearly 100% of GDP, and with public services under tremendous pressure, some economists have questioned whether it is the right time for Hunt to slash taxes.

Tax cuts have, however, been welcomed by many Britons who have faced a squeeze on their budgets during the cost of living crisis.

Here, Yahoo News takes a look at some of the measures rumoured to be in Hunt's budget and asks you how important each decision is to your finances.

Non-dom status

Hunt has scrapped the non-dom status tax loophole. The legal status is a term for a UK resident whose permanent home, or domicile, is based outside the UK.

They only pay UK tax on money that they earn in the UK, meaning they do not have to pay tax in the UK on money they make anywhere else in the world – providing the money is not paid into a UK bank account.

Often these people earn a large amount of money and are able to legally choose a lower-tax country for their domicile.

The chancellor has previously defended the non-dom rule, insisting it encourages those who are well-off to live, work and spend their money in the UK. However, he said that the non-dom status would be replaced with a residency-based system that would see new arrivals not pay UK tax for four years.

Income tax cut

Hunt was rumoured to be mulling an income tax cut in the budget, however opted not to announce a cut on Wednesday, instead cutting National Insurance.

Ahead of the budget, the Resolution Foundation think tank had warned that income tax cuts could cause problems down the line.

It said even a 1p reduction, or cancelling the personal allowance freeze in 2024-25, would each cost the Treasury £7 billion each.

"Cutting the basic rate of Income Tax by 1p while maintaining the personal allowance freeze next year would mean anyone earning less than £38,000 would see their personal tax bills rise rather than fall," the foundation adds.

National insurance cut

The chancellor has announced a 2p cut in National Insurance Contributions (NICs).

Sunak has previously claimed this reduction would save the average worker on an annual salary of £35,000 an extra £450 per year.

However, as Full Fact pointed out earlier this year, this figure only looks at the impact of the National Insurance reduction "in isolation". The fact-checking website says it doesn't take into account freezes to the threshold at which people begin paying National Insurance contributions and income tax.

In January the IFS suggested the saving could be closer to £130 when taking threshold freezes into account.

Stamp duty

There have been calls for the levy to be cut for older homeowners who downsize to smaller properties - however, the chancellor did not announce any changes to stamp duty in the Spring Budget.

Stamp Duty is a tax people may have to pay if they buy a home or piece of land in England or Northern Ireland over £250,000, unless they qualify for first-time buyers' relief.

The tax has faced plenty of criticism, with the IFS arguing it persuades older "empty nesters" to stay put instead of downsizing, adding that "the more often you move, the more tax you pay."

Explaining how this leaves fewer options available in the housing market, it says: "Mutually beneficial transactions, for example an older person in a big house trading places with a younger family in a smaller house, are disincentivised."

Vape duty

The government has also introduced a tax on vaping products.

Vapes and e-liquids were previously subject to VAT, but they didn't have a separate levy on them like cigarettes and tobacco.

Hunt said the levy would "discourage non-smokers from vaping", and will be introduced from October 2026. Additionally, the chancellor announced an increase in duty on tobacco to "maintain the financial incentive to choose vaping over smoking."

Both measures in total are expected to raise more than £500 million a year by 2028/29.

Fuel duty

Fuel duty has been frozen since 2011, and changing this policy would not have been popular with voters.

In a move that will cost the Treasury about £5 billion in a year, Hunt chose to extend the 5p cut in petrol and diesel. The 5p cut was introduced by Sunak in 2022 while serving as chancellor.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “With a general election looming, it would have been a huge surprise for the chancellor to tamper with the political hot potato that is fuel duty in today’s Budget. It appears the decision of if or when duty will be put back up again has been quietly passed to the next government.

“But, while it’s good news that fuel duty has been kept low, it’s unlikely drivers will be breathing a collective sigh of relief as we don’t believe they’ve fully benefited from the cut that was introduced just two years ago due to retailers upping margins to cover their ‘increased costs’. This has meant fuel prices have been higher than they would otherwise have been.

“What’s more, despite today’s positive news it’s still the case that drivers are once again enduring rising prices at the pumps, sparked by the oil price going up – the average cost of a litre is already up by more than 4p since the start of the year.”

Inheritance tax

Inheritance Tax is currently paid by fewer than 4% of estates, but frozen thresholds for the tax, and higher house prices, mean more and more people are being pushed into the net.

Even towards the end of last year, speculation was mounting that Hunt was preparing to cut this controversial tax in half.

However, there has been no change to inheritance tax in the Spring Budget.

Inheritance tax is a tax on the estate (the property, money and possessions) of someone who’s died. It usually only applies to estates worth over £325,000.

Leaving everything above the £325,000 threshold to your spouse, civil partner, a charity or a community amateur sports club is also another way to avoid paying the tax. If you give away your home to your children or grandchildren, the threshold can increase to £500,000.

Supporters of inheritance tax argue that it is an important way to reduce inequality, as it helps redress disproportionate generational wealth.

They say the tax is a good way to raise revenue, which can be used to fund programmes to reduce inequality, but that all depends on how the government chooses to spend the money.

Many opponents of inheritance tax argue it represents "double taxation", as many of those who pay it will have paid taxes as they earned their money to buy their properties.