Spring Statement March 2022
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The Chancellor presented two Budgets in 2021 in which he set out a great many details of the tax rates and rules that will apply until April 2026. The 2022 Spring Statement was expected to review the economic situation and adjust forecasts, but was not supposed to include anything significant about tax. Of course, things have changed dramatically since October: there is a war in Ukraine, energy prices are rising sharply and inflation has returned to levels last seen in the early 1990s.
An announcement had already been made in February of measures to help people with fuel bills later in the year, and commentators were speculating how much more Mr Sunak might do now, with tax receipts running higher than forecast and the effect of inflation set to increase those receipts in the future. Most predicted he would do something, but many believed he would be cautious and leave significant changes for the next Budget. In the event, his speech contained more on tax than almost anyone could have expected. He started with a temporary cut in fuel duty, expected to save the average motorist about £100 in the next year. He went on to remove VAT from the installation of energy-saving materials in houses, which will save money for a smaller number of people. Then he declared that he intended to implement a ‘tax plan’ going forward, with the overall aim of bringing taxes down year on year over the life of the Parliament, and started with a big surprise: a huge rise in the National Insurance Contribution thresholds to apply in July 2022 that will mean that 70% of people will pay less NIC in spite of the introduction of the 1.25% increase that will apply from April. He went on to increase Employment Allowance, which is a relief from Employers’ NIC for small businesses, and to promise a cut in the basic rate of income tax from 20% to 19% in April 2024. Fuel duty is reduced by 5p per litre from 6pm on 23 March 2022 (for one year).
Key points
- The Health and Social Care Levy goes ahead as planned from April 2022 (effectively increasing NIC rates for 2022/23).
- Class 1 employees NIC - the Primary Threshold of employees NIC will rise from July 2022 – read more here.
- Class 2 self-employed NIC – from April 2022, the starting threshold will increase to £11,908.
- Employers NIC - the Employment Allowance (for smaller employers) increases to £5,000 for 2022/23.
- The basic rate of income tax is to be cut by 1% to 19% from April 2024.
- R&D relief – part of the reforms being implemented from April 2023 block deductions for overseas R&D work but some exemptions have been confirmed (for regulatory reasons, eg clinical trials and geographical factors).
- Further reforms to R&D relief will be considered in a consultation to be published in the summer – this may include an increase in the rate of relief to ensure the UK remains a competitive location for R&D.
- Capital Allowances - The government will consider alternative options so that it is able to replace the super-deduction when it expires in April 2023
- VAT on energy saving materials will be reduced from 5% to 0% from April 2022 to April 2027 (this includes insulation, solar panels and wind turbines).
- A review of the Apprenticeship Levy (introduced in 2017 to encourage employers to use apprenticeships to upskill their workforce) will take place to determine whether the scheme is “doing enough”.
- Tax reliefs – In the interest of creating a fairer and efficient system, the government plans to announce the simplification or removal of a number of existing tax reliefs in the lead-up to 2024.
If you would like to discuss any of the points raised above please contact the partner or a member of the LH Team.
