On Wed 27th October 21, Rishi Sunak presented his Autumn Budget & Spending Review to the House of Commons. The market rumours suggested a series of 'technical' adjustments as opposed to any seismic, headline-grabbing updates. So, did he deliver a suite of subtleties or did he unleash a spree of spooks? Read on for our bitesize roundup of the key business and employment announcements in the Autumn Budget 21:
Business
R&D Tax Reliefs - Will be reformed from April 23 to improve their effectiveness. To achieve this, qualifying expenditure will be expanded to include data and cloud computing costs.
Business Rates - The current system will remain in place although some notable reforms will come into effect from 1st April 23. These include increasing the frequency of revaluations from 5 years to 3 years and new reliefs for investment in property improvements and green technology.
Temporary Business Rates Relief - For 22-23, a freeze in business rates multipliers (49.9p & 51.2p) and a 50% discount for the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors (capped at £110k per business).
Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) - Will be extended for a further six months until 30th June 22. The scheme was originally due to expire at the end of December 2021.
Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) - The temporary £1,000,000 cap increase (see here) will be extended to 31st March 23.
British Business Bank (BBB) - A series of cash allocations for the bank, as follows;
£1.6bn in regional funds to provide debt and equity finance to SMEs.
£312m through the Start-Up Loans programme to provide 33,000 entrepreneur loans.
£150m to expand the Regional Angels Programme.
Banking Surcharge - Will reduce from 8% to 3% as of 1st April 23. The annual allowance for groups will also be raised from £25m to £100m. This will help to remove smaller, challenger banks from the scope of the surcharge with the aim of increasing competition.
Online Sales Tax - HM Treasury to launch a consultation on the mechanics and implementation of an online sales tax.
Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief (MGETR) - Will be extended for a further two years until 31st March 24.
Fuel Duty - Will remain frozen at 57.95 pence per litre for 22-23.
Aggregates Levy - Will be frozen for 2022-23 but intention is a return to index-linking in the future.
Employers
National Living Wage - From 1st April 22, for those aged 23 and over, this will increase 6.6% from £8.91 to £9.50 per hour.
National Minimum Wage - From 1st April 22, this will rise as follows;
£9.18 per hour for those aged 21-22
£6.83 per hour for those aged 18-21
£4.81 per hour for under-18's
£4.81 per hour for apprentices
National Insurance Contributions (NIC) - Originally announced on 7th Sept 21, the 1.25% increase (to fund social care prior to the introduction of the separate Health and Social Care Levy) becomes effective from 6th April 22.
High Skilled Migration – A new 'Scale-Up' visa will be launched in H1 22 to help eligible businesses recruit overseas talent who meet certain language requirements and have a salary of at least £33k.
A comprehensive breakdown of all measures announced by the chancellor can be found through the government website here.
Should you wish to explore any of these updates in more detail, please don't hesitate to get in touch with the team at KeySME. Alternatively, we would also recommend approaching your company accountant for further guidance.
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