Exciting news! Today, Jeremy Hunt delivered the 2023 Spring Budget announcement, revealing some important measures to support the country’s economic recovery. The government has abolished the “Lifetime Pension Allowance” and increased the pension annual allowance to £60,000 to incentivise people back into work. The budget also includes a new 100% tax relief for businesses investing in new equipment and a freeze on fuel duty. These measures are designed to create jobs, boost investment, and stimulate growth. Stay tuned for more updates on how these changes will impact businesses and individuals across the UK.
- Pension allowance for annual contributions to rise from £40,000 to £60,000
- The lifetime pension allowance to be abolished
- Fuel duty frozen and the 5p cut to fuel duty on petrol and diesel, due to end in April, kept for another year
- From August, alcohol taxes in pubs to be 11p in the pound lower than the rate in supermarkets
- From August, the previously announced alcohol duty will still take place
- The previously announced Tobacco duty increase will still take place
- OBR forecast no UK recession
- Pot holes fund to increase by £200 million
- 12 New Investment zones – including the East & West Midland giving access to £80 million of support
- The previously announced CT increase to 25% will still take place
- New 100% allowance on Capital expenditure, with No Cap on the expenditure from 01/04/23 to 31/03/26.
It applies to spending on main rate equipment, which includes but is not limited to, warehousing equipment such as forklift trucks, tools such as ladders and drills, construction equipment such as bulldozers and excavators, machines such as computers and printers, vehicles such as tractors, lorries and vans, office equipment such as chairs and desks, and some fixtures such as kitchen and bathroom fittings and fire alarm systems.
- R&D changes for difference sectors
- Changes to the Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI) scheme from April 2023 to simplify the process to grant options and reduce the administrative burden on participating companies. This includes, from 6 April 2023, removing requirements to signs a working time declaration and setting out details of share restrictions in option agreements.
- Working parents in England will be able to access 30 hours of free childcare per week, for 38 weeks of the year, from when their child is 9 months old to when they start school.
This will be rolled out in stages:
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- From April 2024, all working parents of 2-year-olds can access 15 hours per week
- From September 2024, all working parents of children aged 9 months up to 3 years old can access 15 hours per week
- From September 2025 all working parents of children aged 9 months up to 3 years old can access 30 hours free childcare per week
- Where parents need childcare for more than 38 weeks a year, they are able to spread their free hours entitlement over a higher number of weeks.
- Start-up grants for new childminders, including for those who choose to register with a childminder agency. Childminders who register with Ofsted will receive a start-up grant of £600, whereas those who register with a childminder agency will receive £1,200.
- Manchester prize – £1 million per year for the next 10 years for the greatest AI advancements
- Local authorities in England £289 million over two academic years, starting in September 2024, to set up wraparound childcare provision in schools for 8am to 6pm care.
