The 2020 Budget was presented to Parliament today amongst fears of an approaching Coronavirus pandemic.
UPDATE: Download the full overview here:
We will post a more detailed analysis of all elements of the budget tomorrow and distribute to our network of clients and contacts, but for now here are our Budget 2020 Top Points for Tax and Business:
- The National Insurance threshold will increase from £8,632 to £9,500, which means that if you are the Director of a Limited Company, you can increase the salary element of your remuneration package to £792 per month before paying any NI tax (dependent of course on your own personal situation!)
- The independent Low Pay Commission to have a formal target of the National Living Wage reaching two-thirds of median earnings, or a minimum (currently) of £10.50 per hour by 2024.
- The ‘tampon tax’ will be abolished, while a ‘plastics packaging tax’ will be introduced
- The levy on electricity will be frozen from April 2022 while the levy on gas will be raised to help tackle climate change.
- Corporation tax will remain at 19%
- VAT on digital publications including books, newspapers, magazines and academic journals will be abolished from 1 December.
- There will be an extra £900m for research into nuclear fusion, space and electric vehicles.
- And R&D investment will be increased to £22billion a year.
- Fuel and alcohol duties will not be increased, although the tax relief scheme for red diesel will be abolished for most sectors. Duty on tobacco to increase by 2%
- For the next year business rates for small businesses, particularly in the retail and leisure sectors, will be abolished!! This will be for businesses with a rateable value below £51,000.
- There will also be a £3,000 cash grant to be available to businesses eligible for small business rates relief
- Entrepreneurs relief lifetime limit on gains Will be cut from £10m to £1m, with immediate effect!
Specifically regarding Coronavirus:
- Statutory sick pay will be available for ‘all those who are advised to self-isolate’ even if they have not displayed symptoms. Businesses with less than 250 staff will get refunded for two weeks of pay if workers need to stay at home.
- There will be a ‘Coronavirus business interruption loans scheme’ to support companies through the crisis, with banks to offer loans of up to £1.2million to small and medium-sized businesses.
We hope you find this brief summary useful.
You can download our full guide to the 2020 Budget now Evian the link below:
Please don’t hesitate to contact the team at IN Accountancy should you have any questions relating to this budget and how it might impact you or your business specifically.
