Adam’s Technical – Budget
The key points to come out of Wednesday’s Autumn Budget are:
• The national living wage for those aged 23 and over will increase from £8.91 to £9.50 an hour from next April.
• The taper rate on Universal Credit will reduce from 63p to 55p. This means that affected individuals will lose 55p of benefits for every £1 earned over £515 per month. This change will happen no later than the 1 December 2021.
• The 15 different tax rates on alcohol will be reduced to 6. Drinks with a high alcohol content will be taxed at a higher rate than those with a low alcohol content. A “draught relief” is also being introduced which will see a lower rate of tax levied on draught beer and cider served from kegs.
• Air passenger duty on flights within the UK will reduce from April 2023. The duty on long haul flights over 5,500 miles is increasing at the same time.
• The planned rise in fuel duty has been cancelled. It will remain at 57.95p a litre. This is the 12th year in a row it has been frozen.
• Individuals in workplace pensions who receive no tax relief due to how the pension contributions are deducted will be able to claim the tax back. This will be introduced in 2024.
• The charge cap of 0.75% p.a. on workplace pensions will be eased. The government hopes this will pave the way for pension investments into less liquid assets.
• A new tax on residential developers profits of 4% over £25 million will be introduced to help fund the repair of tower blocks clad in unsafe materials.
Adam.
