The 2026 budget has been revealed; how will it affect you personally, will it change the country and has chancellor John Healey done enough to prepare for the challenges ahead? Our money and economics editors Hilary Osborne and Heather Stewart are on line now answering your questions Sign up or sign in to join the discussion. Post your questions in the comments below.Guardiangirl66 asks: Why are governments so stubbornly opposed to lifting the basic tax threshold? They adjust them to fit some people affected by fiscal drag but not others, which can’t be cheap to implement and it isn’t fair either.Tax thresholds need to be universally applied in each band, and be simple and crystal clear. Some tapering is overdue to avoid cliff edges and high marginal tax rates but it must be for everyone.Heather says: If you mean the basic rate threshold, it did rise repeatedly from 2010-2020, starting under the Conservative/LibDem coalition, to 44% of average earnings - but yes it’s been frozen for quite a while since, so it kicks in at about 34% of average earnings now. I think the Labour objection to raising it further would be that it’s not a very progressive way of making a tax cut, because it’s set so high already (£12,570) that the lowest earners already don’t pay tax and so wouldn’t benefit from further rises. Completely agree re complicated tweaks to the system, though - the simpler and clearer it is, the better.Hilary says: The main measure for young renters was the Your First Home scheme, which will mean you can think about buying a property when you have a deposit of 2.5%, but in London if you can only save £50 a month that is likely to feel a long way off. Unfortunately there was not much else that’s immediately going to help you.The thresholds for student loan repayments and income tax remain the same, so if you get a pay rise you will see your take home pay go up by less than had these risen in line with inflation. The £100 energy payment comes alongside the removal of VAT on your electricity bills, and the planned removal of the standing charge on gas, so that’s a bit more money you will keep. However, with energy prices looking set to rise in January it’s likely you will still see your bills rise. Continue reading...