The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, unveiled his 2023 Autumn Statement on Wednesday 22 November, alongside an updated economic forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility.
In this resource, we unveil our comprehensive guide to the Autumn Statement, plus an overview from CEO Mike Marigold, and our key headlines from the report.
Autumn Statement 2023: Full Guide
Download the full guide here (pdf) >
Autumn Statement 2023: Overview from CEO Mike Marigold
Autumn Statement 2023: Our key headlines
Income & Tax
- The State Pension will benefit from the Triple Lock, and will go up by average earnings growth from April, by 8.5%. Those of you with the full State Pension will see a pay rise of £905 pa, with the full pension providing £11,542 pa
- National Insurance for employed people is being cut from 12% to 10% for earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 from 6th January (everything else will change from April). This will save you up to £754 pa
- Self-employed people earning over £12,570 will no longer have to pay Class 2 NICs
- Class 2 NICs will not increase with inflation for those who wish to pay them (earnings under £6,725). Changes to Class 2 NICs will save you up to £192 pa
- Self-employed people earning between £12,570 and £50,270 will pay 8% NICs instead of 9%. This will save you up to £377 pa
- Self-employed people and partnerships will be taxed on a cash basis rather than an accrual basis. This simplifies your tax reporting, as you are only taxed on profits in the tax year you receive them. This could save you accountancy fees
- The Minimum Wage will increase, with the age limit for the top tier being reduced from 23 to 21 (all levels and apprenticeship rates will increase). Your children / grandchildren will have a pay rise, so you can expect a nice birthday present!
- As per normal, most benefits will be going up by September’s inflation figure (6.7%) instead of October’s figure (4.6%) as speculated in the press. We are still waiting for the full list of benefits that will be increasing, to be announced. Those of you receiving the Attendance Allowance and/or Child Benefit should see an increase in your benefits
- Tax bands will remain frozen, instead of increasing with inflation. As your income increases with inflation, your overall tax rate will increase as more falls into higher tax brackets. This is known as fiscal drag
- Those who earn more than £150,000 in an employed role and have no other taxable investment income or gains, will no longer need to complete a self-assessment tax return (from the 2024/25 tax year onwards). This will mean you may not need to complete a tax return going forwards
Businesses
- The full expensing capital allowance has been made permanent. Any money you spend on machinery and equipment can be deducted in full from your profits when calculating tax
- The small business rates multiplier is being frozen (49.9p), whilst the standard rates will be increasing by 6.7% to 54.6p. Depending on the rental value of business property, your cost could be going up
Investments
- ISA & JISA allowances will remain the same (£20k and £9k respectively) with slight changes to allowances for 16 and 17 year olds. Due to fiscal drag, a lower proportion of your earnings can be invested tax-efficiently. Plus, 16 and 17 year olds will no longer be entitled to £20k cash ISA allowances on top of their £9k JISA allowances
- The Government will allow people to open more than one ISA for each ISA type from April. Up until now you could only open one cash ISA and one stocks & shares ISA a year. For example, if you are in a fixed-term cash ISA that you opened earlier in the tax year and a better deal comes along, you will no longer miss out, because you will be able to also open another cash ISA to take advantage of that deal
- The Government has expanded the type of investments you can hold in ISAs. Our view is that this could lead to people taking too much risk. We believe people should always consult an investment expert to ensure they have a well-diversified portfolio that aligns with their risk profile to give them the best chance of achieving their goals
- EIS and VCTs were due to be withdrawn in 2025. This has been extended to 2035. In the right situation EIS and VCT investments can provide invaluable opportunities to reduce your tax bill. We are pleased these opportunities will be available for our clients for at least another 10 years
Pensions
- The Government has announced it will look at reforming pensions to encourage people to only hold one defined contribution pot. It views the trend of consolidating old pension pots as a good thing and should be actively encouraged. Whilst we agree that consolidating pensions can be a very good idea, our view remains that a pension should only be moved if it makes sense to do so. Without a full and thorough review by an expert first, it could lead to damaging unintended consequences that puts your future financial security at risk
Recreational
- Alcohol duties have been frozen until August 2024. Just in time for Christmas, this will perhaps be the most well-received news for some of our clients!
- Tobacco duties are going up immediately by 10.9% for all products except hand-rolling tobacco, which will increase by 20.9%. Now is the perfect time to quit smoking
- There is no change to fuel duties
The Economy & Looking Forwards
- The UK economy is expected to grow by 0.6% this year, however we are only expected to grow by 0.7% next year (down from the forecast of 1.8%) and 1.4% in 2025 (down from 2.5% previously estimated). This is why it is important to have a geographically well-diversified investment portfolio and not have all our eggs in the UK basket. We will continue to analyse macroeconomic trends to ensure you are invested in the best way possible to meet your aims and goals
- The headlines say that living standards are not expected to return to pre-pandemic levels until 2027-28 and we will have 3.5% lower disposable income next year than in 2019/20. This is true for the average person out there. However the benefit of having us by your side means that through dynamic planning and strategy, you will be able to enjoy the standard of living you are used to
- Inflation will only drop to 2.8% by the end of 2024 (previously predicted to be 0.9%) and this will be domestically-driven
This particular area contains a number of salient points:
– Inflation will continue to fall, but only gradually. This will mean the Bank of England will likely keep interest rates at their current level for longer
– When interest rates do start falling, bonds within our clients investment portfolios will see a significant increase in value
– Those with buy-to-let property, especially coming off fixed-rate deals over the next 12-24 months are likely to suffer higher mortgage costs going forwards. Combined with the freezing of income tax bands, we are seeing a painful squeeze on rental yields and in some cases investors are losing significant amounts each month. Our view is that now is the time to decrease your property portfolio and diversify your investments
– House prices are estimated to grow 0.9% this year, but fall by 4.7% by the end of 2024, so taking action now is a priority!
- Debt as a percentage of the economy will continue to increase due to high interest rates and a flat growth estimate. However borrowing is set to decrease as the Government is set to raise £46bn per year, just by freezing income tax bands
- This Fiscal Drag means that even with the headline National Insurance cuts, we will still be facing the highest tax burden since the end of the second world war. Smart tax planning and organisation to make the most of your various allowances, is crucial to ensuring you have more money to enjoy the things you love doing. This is where we add significant value to our clients year on year
If you have any questions about the above, or just want to talk about your financial journey, don’t hesitate to contact us today.
