What has happened?
On 3rd March 2021, Chancellor Rishi Sunak MP presented the 2021 Budget.
What do you need to do?
Key points for regulated firms are as follows (some of these had been announced before the Budget speech);
- The furlough (Job Retention) scheme will be extended until the end of September. Employees will continue to receive 80% of their salary for hours not worked until the scheme ends. Employers will be asked to contribute 10% to the scheme in July and 20% in August and September.
- Small businesses will be offered free management training to help them boost productivity growth. Under the so-called “Help to Grow” scheme, the Government will plough £520m into free online courses from business schools. It will also fund 50% discounts on new productivity-enhancing software.
- The Budget will include a mortgage guarantee scheme to help people with small deposits get on the property ladder. The Government will offer incentives to lenders, bringing back 95% mortgages that have “virtually disappeared” during the pandemic. The new scheme is not restricted to first-time buyers or new-build homes, but there will be a £600,000 limit. It is based on the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme, which closed to new loans at the end of 2016.
- The Chancellor will announce a “fast-track” visa scheme to help start-up and rapidly growing tech firms source talent from overseas.
- The limit on a single payment using contactless card technology will rise from £45 to £100 later this year.
- The stamp duty holiday will continue for another three months, with the nil rate band thereafter set at £250,000.
- The personal income tax allowance is to be frozen at £12,570 from 2022 to 2026 and the higher rate income tax threshold is to be frozen at £50,270 for that period.
- The personal tax threshold is frozen at £12,500
- The 100% business rates holiday in England will continue from April until June.
- Corporation tax will rise from 19 per cent to 25 per cent from April 2023
How can we help you?
If you’d like to know more about how we can help you with any aspect of compliance, our expert team is here to help.
Contact us today on 0207 436 0630 or email info@thistleinitiatives.co.uk.