The Chancellor George Osborne delivered his final Budget statement of this Parliament to the House of Commons on Wednesday 18 March 2015.
This is a summary of the main announcements affecting businesses.
- Corporation tax: the main rate will be cut to 20% from April 2015. The rules will be amended to prevent contrived loss arrangements.
- National insurance: NICs for under-21s will be abolished from April 2015. They will also be abolished for young apprentices from April 2016.
- Business rates: a “major” review of business rates was announced. Small business rates relief will be extended from April 2015.
- Tax returns: the self-assessment tax return will be abolished, affecting 12 million people and small businesses. In most cases, the information HMRC needs will be uploaded automatically into new digital tax accounts.
- Diverted profits tax: a tax aimed at large companies that artificially shift profits offshore will come into effect from April 2015.
- Entrepreneurs’ Relief: loopholes will be closed to make the relief only available to those selling genuine stakes in businesses.
- Travel and subsistence: a clampdown on umbrella companies and agencies that abuse tax relief on travel and subsistence.
- Bank levy: the annual bank levy will be raised to 0.21%.
- Farmers: Farmers will be able to average their income over 5 years for tax purposes.
We will publish a detailed guide to the Budget announcements later this evening.
Call us to talk about the measures above and how they affect your business’s financial and tax planning for this year and the next.
