The Mini Budget and what you need to know
Kwarteng's Mini-Budget at a glance: here's everything you need to know from today's announcement
Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has unveiled a mini Budget (fiscal event, if you like) as the UK faces the prospect of a recession. He outlined three key steps: the energy price guarantee, equivalent support for businesses and an energy markets financing scheme delivered by the Bank of England.
Here’s a summary of what’s to come.
Energy support scheme
- There will be a freeze on energy bills, with hopes this will reduce inflation by 5 percentage points
- The government’s energy support scheme is expected to cost £60bn for the six months from October
Public finances
- The government will expand the supply side of the economy through tax cuts to target economic growth of 2.5% per year
- Costings are yet to be published
- The Office for Budget Responsibility will publish a full economic and fiscal forecast before the end of the year
Tax cuts
- Next year’s increase in corporation tax from 19% to 25% will be cancelled, remaining at 19%
- Reversing the tax rise will put £19bn a year back into the economy
- The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) will be winding down
- Planned increases in duty rates for beer, wine and cider will be cancelled
- VAT-free shopping for overseas visitors
Benefits
- Rules around universal credit will be tightened, reducing benefits if people don't fulfil job search commitments
- Jobseekers over 50 to be given time with work coaches to help them return to the job market
Income tax
- The higher rate 45% band of income tax will be removed
- The basic rate of income tax will be cut from April 2023 from 20% to 19%
- The year's national insurance increase will be cancelled from 6 November
Stamp duty
- To be cut for property buyers in England and Northern Ireland
- No stamp duty on the first £250,000. This rises to £425,000 for first home buyers
- This will be permanent, effective from today
Banking bonuses
- With plans to ‘reaffirm’ the UK as a leading financial centre, the bankers’ bonus cap will be scrapped.
- A package of regulatory reforms are the set out in the coming months
Infrastructure and investment planning
- 38 investment zones will be created with tax breaks for businesses, including the Tees Valley, West Midlands, Norfolk and the West of England
- Tax cuts and liberalised planning rules to be offered to release land for housing and commercial use
- Investment zones offered measures such as no business rates and stamp duty waived
- Plans to streamline regulations and remove EU-derived laws will be brought forward, with a key list of infrastructure projects ‘prioritised for acceleration’.
Union strikes
- The government will legislate to tackle ‘militant trade unions’ from closing down key infrastructure through strikes.
- The proposed laws will mean unions have to put pay offers to a member vote, to ensure strikes can only be called once pay talks have genuinely broken down
Well, that's a lot to take in! As a small business owner, you might be wondering how you can prepare yourself for these changes. Whether your funding needs are big or small, temporary or ongoing, invoice finance could be the answer. Why wait for invoices to be paid? With a Kriya Lending facility, you could get up to 90% on day 1 with a voice of a monthly rolling or annual subscription.
You can learn more about invoice finance and its uses on our website, or apply today by clicking here.
If you have any questions, our incredible Portfolio Team (pmteam@kriya.co) is happy to assist.
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