Spring Budget 2023

The Chancellor delivered his Spring Budget on 15 March 2023. We have summarised some key points affecting business:

Taxation, allowances and reliefs

  • Full expensing will be introduced for three years from 1 April 2023. During this period, companies across the UK will be able to write off the full cost of qualifying plant and machinery investment in the year they invest, supporting businesses to invest and grow.
  • From 1 April 2023, the Government will introduce an increased rate of relief for loss-making R&D intensive small and medium-sized enterprises. Eligible companies will receive £27 from HMRC for every £100 of R&D investment.
  • Fuel duty rates will stay at current levels for the next 12 months.
  • The Government will increase Draught Relief from 1 August 2023 to freeze the duty charged on a typical pint of beer in the pub and ensure this will always be lower than in the supermarket.
  • To support the culture sector, tax reliefs for theatres, orchestras, museums and galleries will stay at rates of 45%-50% until 2025.
  • More generous tax relief support for the film, TV and video game industries.

Investment, enterprise and regeneration

  • £400 million to roll out Levelling Up Partnerships, helping to regenerate 20 places across England and address barriers that have held back growth.
  • The Government will accept Sir Patrick Vallance’s recommendations to better regulate the digital technologies of the future to help create new jobs and encourage investment.
  • £20 billion of funding to support carbon capture and storage projects to help the UK reach its energy security and net zero ambitions by 2050.

Skills and employment

  • A new Universal Support Scheme to support disabled people and those with long-term health conditions into employment.
  • £11.5 million package to provide employment support to Ukrainians who have arrived in the UK under the Ukraine Visa Schemes.
  • To encourage more people to join the childminding profession, new joiners will receive incentive payments of £600, rising to £1,200 for those joining through an agency.
  • Eligible working families will have access to 30 hours of free childcare per week for children aged between 9 months and 4 years.
  • To support parents on Universal Credit (UC) to move into work or increase their hours, the amount of UC support for childcare costs will increase by almost 50% and be paid upfront instead of in arrears.
  • Pension tax reforms, including reforming the pensions lifetime allowance, annual allowance and money purchase allowance, to encourage highly-skilled workers to remain in the labour market.

Energy bill support

  • The Energy Price Guarantee at its current level will be extended to the end of June 2023 for households.

Read the Spring Budget 2023 in full

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