The 2015 Budget – Live blog

The 2015 Budget - Live blog

Keep viewing here for updates on the 2015 budget as declared on 18th March 2015. This will be updates that affect small businesses and individual tax

Expected measures

  • Further pension measures
  • Annual tax returns to be replaced by individual online accounts
  • Personal Allowance to go beyond £10,600

Here we go

  • Growing, creating jobs and economy strong
  • higher living standards in 5 years
  • We set out a plan, that plan is working and Britain is walking tall again, says Osborne
  • Action promised for savers, pensioners, homebuyers and small business
  • Chancellor says this will also be a budget “for the small business owner”. Sounds very promsing for SMES.
  • Unemployment falling
  • NMW to rise to £6.70 – £8.0 by end of decade – increase in apprentice rate
  • launching a sale of £13bn of mortgage assets we still hold from bailouts of Northern Rock & of Bradford and Bingley
  • Reduce lifetime allowance for pensions £1.25m to £1m – no change to the annual allowance
  • Corporation tax rules, simplifying VAT on foreign business
  • Clamping down on umbrella companies
  • Diverted profits tax aimed at large multinationals will take effect from next month
  • Clamping down on umbrella companies and those that avoid tax but will not affect genuine self employed.
  • Introduction of new criminal offences for tax evasion and penalties for professionals who advise them
  • I am also today amending corporation tax rules to prevent contrived loss arrangements
  • Entrepreneurs’ relief to be restricted to genuine stakes in businesses
  • Company car tax to increase slower than originally planned.
  • Corporation tax cut to 20% in April 2015
  • Annual investment allowance not to revert to £25k (figure to be decided)
  • Fuel duties – September increased cancelled
  • Abolish tax return all together – digital tax accounts! Automatic information, revolutionary tax collection!

Making tax easier – the government has taken significant action to make tax easier, quicker and simpler.  Introducing cash accounting as recommended by the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS), which has been taken up by more than one million small businesses. Building on these foundations, Budget 2015 announces that the government will transform the tax system over the next Parliament by introducing digital tax accounts, removing the need for annual tax returns. By the end of the next Parliament over 50 million individuals and small businesses will be able to see and manage their tax affairs online.

  • Personal tax allowance goes up to £10,800 this year and £11, 000 next year
  • Higher rate tax threshold to rise above the rate of inflation for first time in 7 years, to £43,300
  • New personal savings allowance. First £1000 will be tax free
  • A more flexible ISA – savers won’t lose their allowance if they withdraw
  • Class 2 tax contributions for the self-employed to be abolished.
  • Beer duty is to be cut for the third year in the row, by a penny a pint; cider duty will be cut by 2% and wine duty will be frozen

Full details here