Spring Budget 2021
As expected much of Rishi Sunak’s Spring Budget was focused on continuing support for businesses as we move towards the easing of the Covid lockdown measures. It was welcome news that help will continue beyond the dates currently set for business to re-open, with the furlough scheme, business rates holiday, reduced SDLT rate and VAT reductions all due to continue. House builders in particular will benefit from the introduction of the mortgage guarantee scheme.
An increase in corporation tax to 25% was widely anticipated albeit delayed until 2023, but the super deduction of 130% for capital expenditure and an extension of tax relief on business losses incurred during the lockdown came as a pleasant surprise.
There was plenty of bad news with government borrowing expected to reach £600bn over the two-year period to March 2022 and job losses at 700,000 since the start of the pandemic but measures to help balance the books were in short supply. Freezing tax allowances and rate bands was one way for the Chancellor to increase the overall tax take without any headline grabbing rate increases, but I think we can be sure that there will be more tax rises to come.
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