Today, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered his Autumn Statement.
We have summarised the key points below:
Cost of living support:
- Universal Credit payments will increase by 6.7% from next year.
- The State Pension will increase by 8.5% from April 2024 – an annual increase of over £900.
For Businesses:
- Alcohol duty is frozen until 1st August 2024.
- Planning application reform will begin next year to guarantee faster timelines for housebuilders and construction firms. In addition to this, the Connections Review will speed up connection to the national grid for new developments.
- The passing of the Procurement Act will mean that 30-day payment terms will now become mandatory, helping SMEs with cash flow and bad debts.
- The 75% business rates discount for retail, leisure, and hospitality will be extended for a further year.
- Class 2 National Insurance that all self-employed people pay for entitlement to their state pension will be abolished from next year, saving almost £200 a year.
- Class 4 National Insurance will be cut by 1% from April 2024 taking it down to 8% on profits over £9,880 for self-employed business owners.
- The ‘full expensing’ tax reliefs for IT, Machinery and Equipment assets introduced last year have been made permanent, giving us the most generous capital investment tax policy in the world.
- Large investments were announced in the AI, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, and green energy sectors.
For Individuals:
- Pension funds will look to give savers a legal right that employers can be instructed to pay into existing Auto enrolment pots meaning people can have one pension fund over their working life.
- The National Living Wage will increase in April 2024 to £11.44 for workers over 21. The separate National Minimum Wage for 18-20-year-olds will also increase to £8.60 an hour from £7.49 and Apprentices will also get a rise, with an hourly pay increase of over 20%, going from £5.28 to £6.40 an hour.
- National Insurance for Employees will be cut from 12% to 10% on earnings between £12,571 and £50,270 saving an average of £450 per employed person. This will come in from January 6th 2024. More information on this, here: whyfield.co.uk/news-careers/employees-ni-tax-cut
As always, we will update this page as and when we get more information.