Finances and economy

The UK is now officially in recession as Jeremy Hunt unveiled the Autumn budget in Parliament today (17 Nov 22). There he announced a new set of tax rises and austerity policies. 

What does this mean for pest controllers? 

Individuals

There are a few announcements in the budget that would apply to individuals, such as:

Income Tax: 

• The threshold for the additional (45%) rate will reduce from £150,000 to £125,140 - this means that anyone earning £125,140 or more will now pay a larger amount of tax per year
• The Income Tax thresholds will be frozen for a further two years, until 2028 - this means more people will move into a higher tax bracket if their wages have risen and pay tax on a larger proportion of their income 
• Dividend Allowance to be cut from £2,000 to £1,000 in 2023-24 and to £500 from April 2024. 

Other announcements include:

Inheritance Tax: the Nil Rate Band of £325,000 will be frozen for an additional two years to 2028.

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT): the SDLT cuts announced at the Mini-Budget will now be time limited, ending on 31 March 2025.

Electric vehicles (EVs): If you drive an EV for work or personal use, it will no longer be exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty, from April 2025.

Businesses

Points from the budget that employers and business owners should keep an eye out for are: 

National Insurance: 

• The Employment Allowance will be maintained at £5,000 until 2026
• Employer threshold frozen until 2028.

Capital Gains Tax: the Annual Exempt amount will be reduced from £12,300 to £6,300 for 2023-24 and to £3,000 from April 2024 .

Research & Development tax credits: R&D tax relief for the SMEs deduction rate cut to 86% and the credit rate to 10% but increase the rate of the separate R&D expenditure credit from 13% to 20%.

VAT: the VAT registration threshold will be held at £85,000 until March 2026.

Electric Vehicles: if your business has a fleet of electric vehicles, they will no longer be exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty, from April 2025.

If you're a BPCA member and have any questions or concerns about the Autumn budget, get in touch and we'll try to find the answers for you. 

[email protected]

01332 294 288

Source: Online