Autumn Budget 2021

Key Points from todays Autumn Budget

– The national living wage will increase to £9.50 an hour next year, up from the current £8.91. An increase of 6.6%.

– The Universal Credit taper rate will be cut by 8% from no later than December 1, bringing it down from 63% to 55% – this will allow claimants to retain more of their payment.

– A planned rise in fuel duty will be cancelled as a result of the current 8 year high pump prices.

– Flights between airports in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to benefit from a new lower rate of Air Passenger Duty from April 2023.

– 4% levy to be placed on property developers with profits over £25 million.

-A 1.25% increase in the rate of National Insurance for workers and pensioners from April 2022.

-A 1.25% increase on tax on dividend earnings over £2000 per year.

March 18, 2016March 18, 2016

Sugar levy on soft drinks

This aims to raise £520m in a two-part levy on companies – one for total sugar content above 5g per 100ml and one for drinks with more than 8g per 100ml – to be introduced in two years’ time. Pure fruit juice and milk are excluded. It will be used to fund sport and longer school days.

Tax allowance

An increase to £11,500 by next April.
A reiterated target to reach £12,500 by 2020. (It will be £11,000 from this April.)
An increase in the 40p tax threshold to £45,000 from next April. (£43,000 from this April.)

Savings

Tax relief on financial advice.
“Help to save” for lower income savers.
From April an increase in the Isa limit to £20,000.
A new lifetime Isa for £4,000 of savings.

Fuel duty

Frozen for the sixth consecutive year, saving £75 for the average driver.

Oil and gas

The industry gets £1bn of tax cuts as the supplementary charge on oil and gas is cut from 20% to 10%.

Climate change

An increase in the climate change levy from 2019.
An end to the carbon reduction commitment energy efficiency scheme.
£730m to back renewables.

Growth

Revised down for 2016 to 2% compared with 2.4% at the time of the autumn statement for 2015 and 2016, and revised down to 2.2% in 2017 (2.5%) and 2.1% in each year after that (previous forecasts for 2.4% in 2018 and 2.3% in each of 2019 and 2020).

Inflation target

The remit remains at 2% for the monetary policy committee and the Bank of England is asked to be particularly vigilant in the face of market turbulence.

Cuts

The chancellor is aiming for a further £3.5bn of savings in 2019-20.

Deficit

A surplus of £10.4bn is predicted in 2019-20 and then £11bn the year after.

Tax avoidance

£12bn to be raised over this parliament, including by cracking down on the royalty payments that firms use to shift money to tax havens.
This also includes efforts to stop individuals disguising their income as loans and imposing national insurance on termination payments over £30,000 from 2018.

Corporation tax

Cut to 17% by April 2020.

But banks are to be hit by restrictions on the amount of profit that they can offset against losses.

Northern Ireland is set to introduce a Corporation tax rate of 12.5% in 2018.

Business rates (England and Wales)

The threshold for small business rate relief is to increase from £6,000 to £15,000.
From April next year 600,000 small businesses will pay no business rates.
London gets full retention of its business rates next April, three years earlier than planned.

Stamp duty

To raise £500m a year, from Thursday, commercial stamp duty will be zero on properties up to £150,000 and 2% on the next £200,000, but a top rate of 5% on £250,000.

Homelessness

£115m to reduce rough sleeping.

Flood defences and insurance

A £700m increase for flood defences and a 0.5% increase in the insurance premium tax to 10%.

Culture

Cathedral repairs fund gets an extra £20m.
Tax breaks for galleries that go on tour.

Education (England and Wales)

Schools to become academies.
Focus on northern schools.
Teaching maths to 18 for all pupils.
£500m for national funding formula.

Tobacco

Tobacco Duty will rise by 2% and hand rolling tobacco will rise by an additional 3% from 6pm on 16 March 2016

Alcohol

Duty on beer, cider and whisky is frozen.

Capital gains tax

For commercial properties the higher rate of Capital Gains Tax will be cut from 28% to 20% and the basic rate from 18% to 10%. This will take effect from April 2016., but no change for properties.

Overseas aid budget

Budget will be “readjusted”, saving £650m in 2019-20.

Pensions

Increase in contributions from public sector employers.

Self Employed National Insurance

Class 2 National Insurance contributions to be scrapped for self-employed workers from April 2018. Currently, self-employed people have to pay Class 2 NICs at £2.80 per week if they make a profit of £5,965 or over per year. They also pay Class 4 NICs if their profits are over £8,060 per year. From April 2018, they will only need to pay one type of National Insurance on their profits, Class 4 NICs

December 3, 2014February 2, 2019

Autumn Statement 3 December 2014

Key Points

Personal taxes

Tax free allowance raised to £10,600 next year.
Higher rate tax band raised to £42,385.
When someone dies, their husband or wife will be able to inherit their ISA tax free.
The inheritance tax exemption will cover aid workers who lose their lives dealing with humanitarian emergencies.

Corporate taxes

A 25pc tax on profits from activity in the UK for companies that shift profits offshore will raise £1bn over the next five years.
Business rates to be reviewed.
Tax relief for small and medium-sized businesses doubled, and a £45m package of support for exporters.
Tax credit for children’s TV producers
No employer national insurance on apprentices

Property

Stamp Duty reformed to become more progressive, introduces marginal tax rates. Changes come into force from tonight.

Up to £125,000 – no tax
Up to £250,000 – 2pc
Up to £925,000 – 5pc
Up to £1.5m – 10pc
Above that – 12pc

Stamp duty cut for 98pc of homebuyers who pay it, you pay more if you buy anything above £937,000.

Health

Confirmed £2bn a year extra spending on NHS
Extending £2,000 employment allowance to carers

Travel

Fuel duty frozen again
Air passenger duty for children under 12 abolished from next year, and for children under 16 the year after

Bank fines

£1.2bn of forex bank fines for GP services
Libor fines go to emergency services, Gurkhas, £10m for veterans with hearing problems, new helicopters and VAT refunds for search and rescue

Education

£10,000 student loans for postgraduate students doing masters degrees

Devolution

Northern Ireland to set corporation tax

March 19, 2014February 2, 2019

BUDGET 2014 THE KEY POINTS

PERSONAL TAX

The Personal Allowance will increase from £9,440 to £10,000 from April 2014 and to £10,500 from April 2015
Threshold for 40p income tax is to rise from £41,150 to £41,865 next month and by a further 1% to £42,285 next year.
Inheritance Tax waived for members of emergency services who give their lives in the job
10p rate for savers is abolished

NATIONAL INSURANCE

The primary threshold for employees will increase from £7,755 to £7,956
Upper Earnings Limit will rise from £41,150 to £41,865
New NIC employment allowance of £2,000 begins in April 2014
Under 21’s taken out of employers’ national insurance contributions

CORPORATE TAX

Currently at 23%
Will be cut to 21% in April 2014
Will be cut again to 20% April 2015

PROPERTY AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Help to buy equity loan scheme extended to March 2020
From midnight tonight properties bought for more than £500,000 through “corporate envelopes” will be liable for 15% Stamp duty.
Government to create £500m builders finance fund which will provide loans to developers to unlock housing units stalled due to difficulty accessing finance

BUSINESSES

Annual investment aallowance to be doubled to £500,000 until the end of 2015
First enterprise zone in Northern Ireland to be established in Coleraine, which the government will support by offering enhanced capital allowances to investors within that zone.

DUTIES

Fuel duty rise as planned for Sept 2014 has been cancelled
Beer duty will be cut by 1 penny from 24 March 2014
Duty on spirits will be frozen for 2014-15
Machine games duty (MGD) the government will create a new higher rate of machine games duty at 25% for B2 machines
Bingo duty will be reduced from 20% to 10%
Tobacco duty will increase by 2% above the rate if inflation from 6pm on 19 March 2014. Annual duty increases of 2% above the rate of inflation will continue until the end of next parliament.

SAVINGS

A new single ISA will be introduced with equal limits for cash and stocks and shares. The annual investment limit will be increased to £15,000 per year
The cap on investments in premium bonds will be lifted from £30,000 to £40,000 from 1 June 2014, to be lifted again to £50,000 in 2015-16

PENSIONS

All tax restrictions on pensioners’ access to their pension pots to be removed. The taxable part of pension pot taken as cash on retirement to be charged at normal income tax rate, typically 20% down from 50%
There will be an increase in total pension savings people can take as a lump sum to £30,000
The total amount you can contribute to your pension scheme with tax relief each year is being cut from £50,000 to £40,000
The tax free lifetime allowance for the value of your pension pot is being cut from £1.5m to £1.25m

CHILDCARE

The Tax free childcare costs cap, against which parents can claim 20% support, will be increased to £10,000 per year for each child. This will mean that eligible parents can now benefit from greater support, worth up to £2,000 per child per year from autumn 2015. Tax free childcare will be rolled out to eligible families with children under 12 within the first year of the schemes operation.