Contents
- Introduction
- Individual Taxes
- Small Business and Self-Employed
- Innovative Industries
- Business Investment
- Inflation and Cost Of Living Support
- Other
Introduction
On 22 November 2023, the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, delivered the Autumn Statement. We’ve made a summary of the key measures impacting limited companies and individuals.
Individual Taxes
- Cut in the main rate of employee NICs by 2% from 6 January 2024.
- Increase in National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage by 9.8% to £11.44 per hour for 23-year-olds and older.
Small Business and Self-Employed
- From April 2024 any company bidding for government contracts must demonstrate they pay their own invoices within 55 days as late payments are the scourge of small businesses.
- Freezing Small Business Multiplier for a further year and extension of 75% business rates discount for retail hospitality and leisure for another year.
- Major reform of self-employed NICs:
- Class 2 NICs to be abolished all together with access to entitlements and credits being maintained in full.
- 1% reduction in class 4 rate.
Innovative Industries
- Creative industries: a new call for evidence on TV tax credits.
- £500m over two years to fund further innovation centres.
- New combined single R&D tax relief scheme.
- Combined relief rate for loss making companies will be 19%, changes to requirements for knowledge intensive companies.
- £2bn for zero emission investments in automotive industries, £975m for aerospace, plus more funding for offshore energy.
- Extension of investment zone and freeport reliefs from five years to ten years
- Three more investment zones in West Midlands, East Midlands and Greater Manchester
- Second investment zone in Wales in Wrexham and Flintshire.
Business Investment
- £50m funding to increase apprentices in engineering and other key growth sectors.
- Prompt service from local authorities for businesses on their planning applications ‘or your money back’.
- Various pension fund reforms including a consultation on giving people a legal right to have new employers pay into their existing pension pot so that they have just one pension pot.
- Full expensing on qualifying expenditure on plant and machinery to be made permanent.
Inflation and Cost Of Living Support
- Inflation has fallen to 4.6% from 11.1%. OBR says inflation will fall to 2.8% by the end of 2024.
- Four new measures to help with the cost of living:
- Increases to Universal Credit & other benefits by 6.7% from April 2024.
- Increase in local housing allowance to help with rents: £1.6m households will get an additional £800 in support.
- Freezing of all alcohol duty until 1 August 2024. Tobacco duty will increase 10% however.
- Pensions triple lock honoured, from April 2024 an increase in state pension of 8.5% to £221.20 a week and £900 per year.
Other
£7 million pounds announced to tackle anti-semitism with more £3m funding to deal with racism and anti-terrorism education.
