The Autumn Budget
The chancellor of the exchequer has delivered his Autumn Statement and here are some of the key points:
Income Tax and National Insurance:
- The main 12% rate of employee national insurance contributions is being cut by 2 percentage points to 10%, effective from 6 January
- The national minimum wage will be raised from £10.42 to £11.44 an hour from April, and the age eligibility will be reduced to workers who are aged over 21, rather than currently those who are 23 years and older
And for the self employed:
- Class 2 National Insurance – for those earning more than £12,570 – will be abolished from April
- Class 4 National Insurance – paid on profits between £12,570 and £50,270 – will be cut from 9% to 8% from April
Benefits & Pensions
- State pension payments will increase by 8.5% to £221.20 a week from April
- Benefits payments, in England and Wales, to increase by 6.7% from April
- There will be a consultation held on whether savers get the right to pick the pension scheme their employer pays into, this could mean employees then only have one ‘pension pot for life’ which follows them during their employment
Business
- A “new, simplified” tax relief for research and development will combine the existing R&D Expenditure Credit and SME schemes
- “Full expensing” tax break, allowing companies to deduct spending on new machinery and equipment from profits, is to be made permanent
- The 75% business rates discount for retail, hospitality and leisure firms in England will be extended for another year
- Financial incentives for investment zones with new investment zones announced for the West Midlands, East Midlands and Greater Manchester, as well as Wrexham and Flintshire
