Autumn Statement Special

This week saw the delayed but eagerly awaiting Autumn Statement 2022 from the new government through the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, by his speech made on Thursday. This saw a significant change in direction and position from the government in respect of previous recent announcements by the at the time incumbents as the chancellor set out the government’s plan to put public spending on a sustainable footing and get debt falling, while protecting vital public services and prioritising the needs of the most vulnerable.

It was therefore going to be a shift-change from the previous savings and reductions toa more sustainable solution, not only in respect of the areas above but also ensuring stability in the markets and currency along with supporting the Bank of England around inflation and the need for hopefully less intertest rate increases. From the speech and announcements made by the chancellor, a more focused Autumn Finance Bill will be introduced next week to legislate for some of the measures announced.

There were some key tax announcements in the speech which included threshold and allowances measures for individuals, energy levy changes, changes to R&D tax reliefs and Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT), as well as confirmation of the Corporation Tax rate increase and the OECD Pillar 2 measure. The statement also includes a small number of avoidance and evasion measures.

So, let’s go through the key areas of the announcement and their effect here