The 2018 budget delivered by Chancellor Philip Hammond included several measures designed to help business including:
• The annual investment allowance will be increased from £200,000 to £1m for two years.
• The contribution of small companies to apprenticeship levy to be reduced from 10% to 5%.
• Business rates bills for firms with a rateable value of £51,000 or less to be cut by third over two years as part of £900m business rates relief package. This measure is expected to benefit 90% of independent shops, pubs and restaurants, cutting bills by £8,000.
• A £650m fund was announced to rejuvenate High Streets.
• A new 100% mandatory business rates relief will be introduced for all lavatories made available for public use.
• Extending changes to the way self-employment status is taxed, from the public sector to medium and large private companies, from 2020.
Other measures announced in the budget include:
• The National Living Wage will increase by 4.9%, from £7.83 to £8.21 an hour, from April 2019
• The personal allowance threshold, the rate at which people start paying income tax at 20%, to rise from £11,850 to £12,500 in April and the higher rate income tax threshold, the point at which people start paying tax at 40%, to rise from £46,350 to £50,000 in April
• Fuel duty and beer, cider and spirits duties will be frozen. Duty on a bottle of wine will rise by 8p in February and tobacco duty will continue to rise by inflation plus 2% .
For more information.
For a full budget summary see the BBC summary here
The British Chambers of Commerce the Chancellor has demonstrated that he is listening to business concerns by delivering a Budget that supports investment and growth. Read more here.
Federation of Small Business welcomed the budget as a ‘Small Business-Friendly Budget’. Read the full reaction here.
Chris Turner, the Chief Executive of British BIDs welcomed the measures in the Budget, particularly commitments on infrastructure and business rates. Read the full report here.
