The Chancellor delivered today what he called a budget that will put 'rocket boosters' back into enterprise. George Osborne delivered a raft of measures designed to be £7bn in tax cuts 'for our nation of shopkeepers'.
He paid particular homage to small businesses and those who are unemployed and even a nod to van drivers with a benefit charge for zero emissions vans and freezing fuel duty.
'That's a saving of £75 a year to the average driver; £270 a year to a small business with a van. It's the tax boost that keeps Britain on the move,' he said.
But what else did Osborne pull out of the bag, that might be of benefit to you? We've listed them below:
In addition, an extra 250,000 businesses will be brought into the scheme, which is a 100% relief that's available if a business property has a rateable value of £6,000 or less, to £12,000.
He also announced a simplification of business rate administration and will switch the uprating from the higher RPI to the lower CPI from 2020.
In addition, the government plans to reform class 4 NICs after April 2018.
These will be subject to a separate lifetime limit of £10m of gains.
It's offered two new tax free £1,000 allowances, one for selling goods or providing services, and one for income from property, from April 2017.
Further moves by the government to stop multinational companies avoiding tax are based on advice from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. They include:
Introducing rules to prevent multinational companies avoid paying tax in any of the countries they do business in, a technique called 'hybrid mismatches'
Taxing outbound royalty payments better - these are fees for using intellectual property like patents and copyrights - meaning multinationals pay more tax in the UK
You can save up to £4,000 a year and the government will give you a 25% bonus. You can use this account until you're over 60. It's yet unclear how this will work with the current Help to Buy ISA, which has only recently come into effect to help new homeowners save for their first deposit.
The total amount you can save each year into all ISAs will also be increased from £15,240 to £20,000 from April 2017.
Oddly, nothing was mentioned about the Making Tax Digital plans, but these are expected later on in the month.
One of our Budget panellists, Intuit's John Midgley said however he was pleased to see £71m being put toward improving HMRC's serivce to taxpayeras.
"This investment comes ahead of more significant changes to the way that businesses interact with the Revenue, which will come into force from April 2018, to fully digitise the UK tax system.
"Additionally, many of our customers will be among the 600,000 who will pay no business rates from April 2017 when rate relief is increased to £15,000. This has been a long standing concern for many businesses and important given the additional costs small business owners will face this year due to Auto-enrolment legislation and the implementation of the National Living Wage," he said.
What did you think of today's Budget? Share your thoughts by commenting below(log in or sign up first!)
He paid particular homage to small businesses and those who are unemployed and even a nod to van drivers with a benefit charge for zero emissions vans and freezing fuel duty.
'That's a saving of £75 a year to the average driver; £270 a year to a small business with a van. It's the tax boost that keeps Britain on the move,' he said.
But what else did Osborne pull out of the bag, that might be of benefit to you? We've listed them below:
Business rate relief
Osborne announced he is extending business rate relief permanently from April 2017, which means an estimated 600,000 businesses won't pay any rates.In addition, an extra 250,000 businesses will be brought into the scheme, which is a 100% relief that's available if a business property has a rateable value of £6,000 or less, to £12,000.
He also announced a simplification of business rate administration and will switch the uprating from the higher RPI to the lower CPI from 2020.
Class 2 national insurance contributions scrapped
The self employed won't have to pay Class 2 NICs from April 2018. Currently, if you're self employed you have to pay £2.80 per week if you make a profit of over £5,965 a year.In addition, the government plans to reform class 4 NICs after April 2018.
Extension of entrepreneurs' relief
Under the new rules, entrepreneurs will be able to access a 10% rate of capital gains tax on newly issued shares in unlisted companies purchased on or after 17 March 2016, provided they are held for a minimum of three years from 6 April 2016.These will be subject to a separate lifetime limit of £10m of gains.
Tax allowances for the sharing economy
It seems the government is paying attention to the rise of sharing economy businesses such as Airbnb and Zipcube.It's offered two new tax free £1,000 allowances, one for selling goods or providing services, and one for income from property, from April 2017.
Tackling tax dodging multinationals
It's also been listening to the call for a crackdown on multinationals who dodge paying their fair share of tax in the UK. One controversial measure - perhaps unrelated - is to cut the corporation tax rate further to 17% by 2020.Further moves by the government to stop multinational companies avoiding tax are based on advice from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. They include:
Introducing rules to prevent multinational companies avoid paying tax in any of the countries they do business in, a technique called 'hybrid mismatches'
Taxing outbound royalty payments better - these are fees for using intellectual property like patents and copyrights - meaning multinationals pay more tax in the UK
Lifetime ISAs
You can't really mention today's Budget without noting Osborne's emphasis on 'the next generation'. One measure the Chancellor has brought in for the under 40s is a Lifetime ISA, effective from April 2017.You can save up to £4,000 a year and the government will give you a 25% bonus. You can use this account until you're over 60. It's yet unclear how this will work with the current Help to Buy ISA, which has only recently come into effect to help new homeowners save for their first deposit.
The total amount you can save each year into all ISAs will also be increased from £15,240 to £20,000 from April 2017.
More business flooding funding
Another measure was that funding for new defences including in Leeds, York, Calder Valley and Cumbria and maintenance of existing defences would be paid for by a tax on insurers.Oddly, nothing was mentioned about the Making Tax Digital plans, but these are expected later on in the month.
One of our Budget panellists, Intuit's John Midgley said however he was pleased to see £71m being put toward improving HMRC's serivce to taxpayeras.
"This investment comes ahead of more significant changes to the way that businesses interact with the Revenue, which will come into force from April 2018, to fully digitise the UK tax system.
"Additionally, many of our customers will be among the 600,000 who will pay no business rates from April 2017 when rate relief is increased to £15,000. This has been a long standing concern for many businesses and important given the additional costs small business owners will face this year due to Auto-enrolment legislation and the implementation of the National Living Wage," he said.
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