She adds: "And not even much of a sop, given that the tax-free allowance for CGT is set to decrease from £6,000 to £3,000 in April this year."
Similarly, Corliss says: "The reduction in the higher rate of CGT for residential property disposals from 28 per cent to 24 per cent will be welcomed by those impacted.
"However, with no change to the scheduled reduction in the CGT exempt amount from £6,000 to £3,000 from April 6 2024, the impact of this measure will be somewhat diluted."
But Paul Kissack, group chief executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, says: “This was a Budget for big earners and big owners. Prioritising CGT cuts for owners of multiple properties is an insult to almost 4mn people facing destitution in the UK today."
Child benefit changes
The chancellor also increased the income level at which people are charged for receiving child benefit.
He announced the income threshold for the High Income Child Benefit Charge would increase from £50,000 to £60,000 in April.
The charge will also be halved from 1 per cent of the child benefit payment for every additional £100 earned above the threshold, to 1 per cent for every £200.
This could mean advisers will have to revisit their plans, says Alastair Black, head of savings policy at Abrdn.
He says: “Advisers actively create strategies built around the thresholds to optimise the benefits that clients receive.
“Today’s announcement means many strategies will need to be revisited, at least as far as these parts go."
He adds: “But this was always going to remain an area of potential change, so hopefully advisers and their clients can now plan ahead with confidence – although we’ll need to see details of the consultation of the household system and the outcome for the future to be set."
The chancellor also announced plans to focus the charge on household income rather than individual income.
Currently two parents earning £49,000 a year each would receive child benefit in full, but a household with one parent earning more than £50,000 would see the benefit cut.
The move will force HMRC to change the way it collects data about households.
Corliss says: "We have long since called for the government to take a more equitable approach by pegging the eligibility for full child benefit to a household income of £100,000, rather than focusing on the earnings of a single earner."
He says the move would address the "glaring inequity where a dual-income household with each partner earning just under the HICBC threshold can access full child benefit and do not face any reduction in benefits, while in stark contrast, a single parent earning slightly over the threshold faces a reduction or total loss of this support after they earn more than the taper level, despite managing on a significantly lower household income."
