An Emergency Budget is scheduled on Friday (23rd September)
Here’s what may and may not happen to the main taxes….
Income tax: the government may bring forward the planned reduction in the basic rate of income from 20% to 19% – originally scheduled to kick in from April 2024.
Dividend Tax: there has been no mention of reversing the recent dividend tax rise of 1.25% that was introduced in April 2022.
Capital Gains Tax (CGT): it is likely that the allowance will remain frozen; any moves here will likely appear in the Autumn Budget.
Corporation Tax (CT): formal confirmation the rise from 19% to 25% will not take place in April 2023 (as previously planned) will bring some comfort to business owners.
National Insurance Contribution (NIC): businesses and individuals may benefit from a reversal of the recent NIC increase of 1.25% that was also introduced in April 2022; although how quickly it will flow through to pay packets is uncertain.
Value Added Tax (VAT): a temporary reduction will support business in the hospitality sector is expected as consumers cut back on leisure spending.
Other points of note:
Energy crisis: the government may introduce a £2,500 energy price cap for households for two years; we expect the measures introduced to help tackle the energy cost crisis will dominate the headlines.
Transfer of personal allowances: where an individual does not have enough income to fully use their personal tax allowance (£12,570) they can elect to transfer 10% or £1,260 of their allowance to their spouse/civil partner as this would reduce their tax bill by up to £252 each year. The government has proposed that the full allowance should be transferrable to help couples pay less tax where one spouse is the sole earner – this would reduce their tax bill by up to £2,514 each year.
Summary Statement
Cutting taxes (and increasing government borrowing) at a time of high inflation is risky: the total national debt is currently 95.5% of the UK’s GDP. Servicing costs on that debt will rise as interest rates are increased by the Bank of England and it is estimated that the nations debt interest could reach £100bn this year (which is over 4% GDP).
A full budget is likely later this year, probably November, but Friday provides an opportunity for Liz Truss to drive forward the tax changes that she promised in her leadership campaign.
Note: The information above is for general consideration only and is subject to change dependent on specific legal implementation. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and may also change in the future. You should not take, or refrain from taking, action based on its content and no part of this document should be relied upon or construed as any form of advice or personal recommendation.