The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has delivered his Autumn Statement 2023. He began by saying:
“We have taken difficult decisions to put our economy back on track. We have supported families with rising bills, cut borrowing and halved inflation. Rather than a recession, the economy has grown. Rather than falling as predicted, real incomes have risen. Our plan for the British economy is working but the work is not done.”
Mr Hunt went on to announce a package of measures designed to promote economic growth and to make work pay. Those measures that relate to SMEs and the self – employed in particular included: Those measures that relate to SMEs and the self – employed in particular included:
- Making “full-expensing”, which allows businesses to deduct spending on eligible investments, permanent
- Creating a new simplified Research and Development tax relief combining the existing R & D expenditure credit and SME schemes
- Business rates – freezing the small business multiplier for a further year and extending the 75% discount on business rates for those in retail, hospitality and leisure for a further year
- Abolishing the Class 2 National Insurance compulsory charge entirely for the self- employed
- Reducing Class 4 National Insurance Contributions for the self-employed to 8% from April 2024
- Announcing supply side reforms to incentivise the long term unemployed to look for work
- Cutting the Employee National Insurance main rate from 12% to 10% from 6 January 2024
Jeremy Hunt concluded by saying this was “an Autumn Statement for a country that has turned a corner”. Time will tell.
We have begun to examine the details of the Statement and you can read our Autumn Statement summary here.
If you would like to read the Chancellor’s speech in full you can find it here.
You can also find more details on the key measures below:
Autumn Statement Pension Reform 2023
Capital Allowances – full expensing
Research & Development (R & D) tax relief reforms
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