Last updated on October 25, 2019

Chancellor George Osborne delivered this year’s Autumn Statement yesterday. I have outlined the key points below in simple terms for the items that affected small business:

Personal Income Tax

Married couples may now be able to transfer £1,000 of their personal allowance to a higher earning spouse, although this will not apply to higher rate taxpayers.

As already announced, the personal allowance will rise to £10,000 from April 2015.

Employer’s National Insurance

Employer’s National Insurance is to be abolished for all employees aged under 21 from April 2015.

Pensions

State Pension Ages will increase to 68 from about 2030 and then to 69 ten years later.

Business Rates

The expected cap on business rate increases at 2% p/a was announced. However, the Chancellor went further with the extension of the Small Business Rate Relief Scheme and a discount worth £1,000 p/a for small local retailers in a bid to boost the High Street.

Capital Gains Tax & Property

Non-residents will now have to pay CGT (capital gains tax) on UK Property (from April 2015).

There were also changes to the rules for those properties which you no longer live in but were once your main residence, meaning more CGT will be due when you sell.

The CGT annual allowance is also frozen at £11,000 p/a for 2014/15 and will only increase to £11,100 for 2015/16.

If you have any comments to these points we’d be interested to hear them.