As the Government’s last Autumn Budget before the UK’s scheduled exit from the EU in March 2019, the Chancellor framed his announcement as reflecting an end to the era of austerity. The budget includes the commitment to provide an additional £20.5bn to the NHS over the next five years, and a variety of measures designed to protect or stimulate business growth. Here we outline the budget highlights and as always there will be winners and losers. We encourage you to discuss the impact of the budget with the team at HB Accountants. If you need an update on current tax rates, allowances and duties please get in touch.

Small shops business rates cut by one third

Business rates for small retail properties in England with a rateable value below £51,000 will be cut by a third from April 2019 for two years, which the Treasury estimates will save these businesses a total of £900m altogether.

Higher personal allowance & raised higher rate tax threshold

The planned increase in the personal allowance has been brought forward and the threshold for higher rate tax has been raised.

• The personal allowance, which is the amount someone can earn before they pay any tax, will be increased by £650 from 11,850 currently to 12,500 from 6 April 2019.
• The threshold for paying higher rate tax at 40% has been increased by £3,650 from £46,350 to £50,000 from 6 April 2019.

From 2021, personal allowance and tax thresholds will rise in line with inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index.

£1m Annual Investment Allowance

In a move regarded as an incentive to invest, businesses can claim an Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) for capital expenditure incurred on most plant and machinery items. This allowance currently gives 100% capital allowances on expenditure up to £200,000 a year, in other words the full amount spent can be deducted from profits before tax. The AIA will be increased from £200,000 to £1m for a limited period of two years. This change relates to qualifying expenditure incurred from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2020.

New Digital Services Tax

A new 2% tax will apply to annual ‘UK’ revenues over £25m of specific digital services businesses with global sales of more than £500m per annum, from April 2020. The move is designed to harness tax revenues from the new generation of large, successful digital businesses, such as Google. The tax will apply to profitable businesses involved with online marketplaces, search engines and social media platforms. The tax will be introduced following consultation, with legislation in the Finance Act 2020.

Further Stamp Duty concessions

Stamp Duty Land Tax is paid on properties and land in England and Northern Ireland purchased for over £125,000. Since 22 November 2017 first-time homebuyers in England and Northern Ireland qualify for a 100% relief if they buy a property for £300,000 or less, so that they don’t pay Stamp Duty. First time buyers also only start to pay 5% Stamp Duty on residential properties from £300,000 to £500,000, on the price over £300,000. Now first-time buyers’ relief will be extended to qualifying shared ownership purchases of up to £500,000 from 29 October 2018. The change will be backdated to 22 November 2017 to enable taxpayers that haven’t yet claimed first-time buyer’s relief to do so.

New non-recycled plastic packaging tax

The Chancellor has announced a new tax on the manufacture and import of plastic packaging which is comprised of under 30% cent recycled plastic. At the same time, a tax on takeaway plastic cups which had been mooted in the media, has been ruled out. The new tax is intended to reduce single use plastics and will be in place from April 2022 following consultation.

VAT threshold unchanged

The threshold for VAT registration remains unchanged at £85,000 until April 2022. The rates of VAT also remain the same with a standard rate of 20% and a reduced rate of 5%.

Employment Allowance for smaller businesses only

From April 2020 eligibility for the Employment Allowance will be restricted to employers with National Insurance Contributions NICs) below £100,000 in the previous tax year. This allowance lets employers claim back Class 1 NICs of up to £3,000 each year. The new restriction is aimed at targeting support to smaller employers, with 93% of small businesses still being eligible for the allowance, according to the Treasury.

Looking ahead to the Chancellor’s Spring Statement in March 2019, uncertainty over the final Brexit agreement means that the Chancellor has advised this may become a full budget announcement if necessary.

Tell me more

For further details of the 2018 Budget just ask us for a copy of our 2018 Budget Report.

Should you want to discuss ways to manage the implications of the budget for your business please get in touch. Contact HB Accountants by calling 01992 444466 or you can email directors@hbaccountants.co.uk

In 2014, the Government published the results of a call for views from UK businesses about corporate responsibility, and published it in a report, Good for Business & Society. In it, the authors describe corporate responsibility as a voluntary action that “creates shared value for business and society”.

Whilst many companies have defined their CSR policies, we feel that because all the fundraising we do as a team are activities we’d get involved with anyway, we don’t need to make it official, whether it’s for the benefit of charity fundraising, helping out in the local community, or giving local businesses a boost.

Charities

Our official charity of the year – as last year – is Teens Unite. Karen Chase, one of our directors, explains why she organises so many fundraising and awareness-raising activities for the charity. “It makes me sad when I think about the young people they help, so I not only wanted to raise money for them, but in doing so I also hope to encourage other companies to do the same. On a personal level, I organise lots of little events in the office throughout the year, such as dress down days, cake sales and a ‘tuck shop’. I also use networking events as an opportunity to talk about the work of Teens Unite which, let’s be honest, people are far more interested in than if I was talking about accounts! As a company, we run stalls at local events to help the charity sell goods that have been donated to them. So although our fundraising for Teens Unite can technically be described as CSR, it’s purely coincidental.”

Every year, the whole team come together to help organise a quiz night to raise funds for a good cause. In 2016 we raised £1,600 to help the Paralympian ambitions of Herts sportsman Shaun Whiter who had recently lost both legs in a traffic accident.

Community

Mark White runs Hoddesdon’s Give Your Town The Run Around initiative, which HB also sponsors. It was launched in 2014 as a way of encouraging the town to get fit, and gets the entire community to turn out for the race and to cheer on the runners. The number of runners taking part is rising year-on-year, and in 2016 there were 750 entrants. This year Mark will ensure that HB Accountants is involved: “Local businesses will enter teams for the run – whether we will find enough volunteer runners from the office this year remains to be seen, but we will encourage as many of our team as possible to come and help raise money for charity on the day”.

Business

The Love Hoddesdon initiative was launched by independent retailers in 2014 to attract shoppers to the town. Catherine and Charlotte have offered their support by being on the Love Hoddesdon committee to help promote the town and all the events that take place in it.

We are also a sponsor of the annual Ambition conferences in which sales and marketing experts give presentations to local small businesses and sole traders in Hertfordshire to help them succeed in business. Ambition 2017 will take place on Thursday 30 November in Hoddesdon – so save the date!

Networking

We get involved in a lot of local business networking groups which are a great way of connecting with and supporting the business community. We also run the administration for the Hoddesdon Networking Breakfast, an informal and well-attended ‘drop in, drop out’ event, which is held once a month so local business people have the opportunity to meet. Every other month, HNB is held in the Your Town hub which was set up as a business and community centre in 2015 for the benefit of community groups and start-up businesses.

If you would like more information about the Hoddesdon Networking Breakfast, or details of any of our charitable events, contact charlotte@hbaccountants.co.uk.

The Borough of Broxbourne is extraordinarily well placed to become a lively and prosperous place for businesses to be.

Just outside the M25, it has all the advantages of being close to London without actually being in London. It’s already home to major companies such as Tesco, News UK, Merck Sharp & Dohme and VolkerWessels UK. Stansted and Luton Airports are easily accessible, it has good road and rail links and will offer easy access to the proposed Crossrail 2 route.

But most importantly, it is being supported by the government in the form of Ambition Broxbourne which was launched in 2014.

The Council’s vision for the area is that by 2030 the Borough of Broxbourne will “have a thriving, vibrant and prosperous economy that is underpinned by innovation, enterprise and entrepreneurship”. It is aiming for a knowledge-driven economy, where the educational institutions meet the current and future needs of business, and with a well-educated and skilled population willing and able to compete in the local and global economy.

Work is already underway on a £3.9m purpose-built Enterprise Centre to provide quality workspace for SMEs and start-ups. The Centre is due to open in Autumn 2016.

As part of the new initiative, a business and community support centre has been set up in Hoddesdon town centre under the name Give Your Town The Run Around. The centre is a café hub which offers works booths and meeting space with wifi, as well as a space to educate and engage the local community. It aims to raise event sponsorship locally, to bring awareness of what is great about the area and to give back to a selection of good causes centred around charity and fitness incentives. Give Your Town The Run Around also supports local ideas and is a building towards being a platform that encourages local creativity.

In addition, there are already numerous business networking groups established by and for small businesses in the area which are complemented by exhibitions and showcases.

Broxbourne is also a great place to live. Bordered by the Lea Valley Park and surrounded by ancient woodlands, it combines the best in small city living with the countryside on the doorstep.

HB Accountants has been established in Hoddesdon for more than 30 years. As an active part of the community we enjoy helping other businesses and organising local events. We’re passionate about the Broxbourne Borough and would love to talk to you about its advantages and attractions. So if you’re thinking about moving your business to the area, get in touch!