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Jeremy Hunt's Autumn statement - 2022

Jeremy Hunt's Autumn statement - 2022
Monday, December 05, 2022

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, delivered his much-anticipated Autumn Statement on 17 November. 

The Autumn Statement focused on ‘stability, growth and public services.’  And, on the whole, big businesses and the City have cautiously welcome the key announcements.  

Here’s our summary of the main points of interest for SMEs:

Main tax measures from the Autumn Statement

  • Income Tax Thresholds - From April 2023 the additional rate (45%) band applies from income over £125,140 (previously £150,000). All other tax rates and brackets remain unchanged.  These bands will be fixed until April 2028. Freezing the bands in this way is a so-called ‘stealth tax’, because an increasing proportion of people’s income is taxed over time, and potentially in higher tax bands, due to wage inflation.

The table below shows the tax bands.

  • National Insurance Thresholds - The current Lower Earnings Limit (£6,396) and Small Profits Threshold (£6,725) will be unchanged for 2023/24. The Secondary Threshold, the level at which employers start to pay national insurance) will be fixed at the current £9,100 per annum until April 2028. The Upper Secondary Threshold (where the rate paid by employees drops) will be fixed at the current £50,270 until April 2028.

  • Capital Gains Tax Thresholds - Currently the first £12,300 is free of CGT. That will drop to £6,000 from April 2023 and £3,000 from April 2024
  • Dividends Tax Thresholds - Currently the first £2,000 is free of tax. That will drop to £1,000 from April 2023 and £500 from April 2024
  • National insurance - The Class 2 rate (flat rate for self-employed people) will increase from £3.15 to £3.45 per week from April 2023. The Class 3 (voluntary contributions) rate will increase at the same time to £17.45 from £15.85. These increases are in line with inflation.
  • Research and Development - From April 2023, the uplift of R&D expenditure in the small and medium enterprises scheme will be reduced from 130% to 86%, and the payable credit rate will fall from 14.5% to 10%.
  • Business Rates - There is a range of measures to support business with business rates. Businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sector will be entitled to relief of 75% of their rates bills. Measures will also be taken to limit the cost of increases arising from the 2023 revaluation and to ease the impact of Small Business Rates Relief and Rural Rates Relief where those reliefs are lost because of the valuation.

Other Measures

  • Benefits - Benefits will increase by 10.1% from April 2023. This is in line with inflation. There were some suggestions that the increase should be around 5%, in line with average earnings growth.
  • Energy cost savings - The cap on unit rates for domestic consumers will increase from April 2023 so that average user will be charged £3,000 (currently £2,500/annum) until March 2024. The scheme for non-domestic users expires from April 2023 and a review is being undertaken into further support thereafter, which will exclude public sector consumers and is expected to be at a ‘significantly lower scale’ for business users.
  • National Living Wage - The rate for individuals aged 23 and over will increase by 9.7% to £10.42/hour from £9.50, with similar-scale increases for other categories of worker.
  • Council tax - The maximum that councils can increase council tax by without a local referendum is now 5%, up from 3%.
  • ATED - The annual tax on enclosed dwellings charges (a levy on certain residential property held in structures such as companies) will increase by 10.1% from April 2023 in line with inflation.

If you’d like to talk to us about any concerns or worries related to the main announcements, please do get in touch with your account manager. You can read more on the Autumn Statement here.

We’ll be happy to explain more of the details and help you start planning a 2023 strategy to overcome your biggest business challenges.


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Pete Dungey

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We found Panthera via our search for a Xero expert. We knew the software we wanted to use, and needed a forward-thinking accountancy partner who could get us up and running, and teach us the ropes moving forward. Tory and her team have always been on hand to answer our questions, and help us to grow as a business, particularly during periods of big change, such as becoming VAT registered. They are always on hand to alleviate any concerns and help to keep our records in order, which makes our year-end accounts an absolute breeze! Being based in Bristol, our relationship is entirely email based, alongside one consolidation meeting at year end - this keeps things simple, efficient and most importantly, hassle-free.

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The support and service we receive from Panthera Accounting is very good. Everything from regular meetings, a prompt e mail response and the transition of our Xero software (which we find very pro active indeed) has and is all remarkably efficient. We find Panthera talk our language and make any process as painless and easy as possible.

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Ash & Tim Lane | Starveacre Fencing
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The whole team at Panthera are great! Working with them has been a huge support to my growing business. They help me to understand the numbers I need to know. They give me technology solutions like Xero so that I can process things quickly and have access to my own figures. They are quick to reply, highly knowledgeable, nothing is too much trouble and as well as making sure that everything is compliant and on time, they are enthusiastic, professional and fun to work with.

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Working with Tory and the team at Panthera is an absolute joy - they provide a first class service on every level; from simple Xero issues through to more complicated tax enquiries, they’re always on-hand to help me get it right. I’m certainly not their biggest customer, but I’m always made to feel like their most important one.

John Baker | BKR Solutions
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I would like to say that Panthera Accounting have helped me with my business accounts for more than 4 years now. They have consistently offered an excellent competitively priced service that works both professionally and in such a friendly way that I would highly recommend them to everyone considering using their services.

John Castle | Ilexanna Limited & Birch Castle Homes Limited
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I had been with Mr Dunn for 20 years when upon his death Panthera took over the business. They now play a bigger part in the running of my business, they do all the stuff that has to be done but I don't like doing ie book keeping, VAT, wages, and returns. They are always there to answer queries and sort out issues and make sure all Tax deadlines are met. Their costs are fair, service is great and I have and would highly recommend them.

Jonathan Morrison | Wallingford Builders
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Panthera Accounting have gone above and beyond the call of duty to guide and support our Company. They offer a professional, friendly and personal service that can take the stressful and sometimes frightening feelings out of running a business. They have guided us through the working of Xero and have offered “teaching sessions” on the day to day running of the accountancy package. Our only regret is that we didn’t join their team earlier.

Pippa Scott | Scott's Commercial Services Limited
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Tory and her team have provided a friendly, approachable and helpful service from the start. They have delivered a quality service, above and beyond anything I could have expected. Panthera, with the help of the Xero package, have taken the stress, strain and confusion out of managing my company and personal accounts. I look forward to working with them for many years to come.

Sara Southey | Bluestones Garden Design
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Panthera are fantastic. Always professional, going the extra mile for their clients and delivering superb service. I recommend them all the time to my clients.

Tracey Miller | Bigger, Brighter, Bolder BBB

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