The Chancellor has delivered his Spring Budget 2023. Below is a summary of the key announcements for London businesses, ranging from new incentives to boost investment, to support for childcare and getting more over-50s back to work. To read the full article head to – LCCI Updates | News & Insights | News | LCCI (londonchamber.co.uk)

Business investment and taxation

• Capital allowances: Full expensing – From 1 April 2023 until 31 March 2026 investments made by companies in qualifying plant and machinery will qualify for a 100% first-year allowance for main rate assets. Additional tax relief for R&D intensive SMEs – From 1 April 2023, a higher rate of relief for loss-making R&D intensive SMEs will be introduced.
• Air Passenger Duty (APD) rates will increase in line with RPI for 2024/25 rounded to the nearest pound.
• Alcohol duties – Duty rates of all alcoholic products will increase in line with RPI.
• Fuel duty rates will be maintained at current levels for an additional 12 months.

Personal tax

• The Annual Allowance will increase from £40,000 to £60,000 from 6 April 2023. The Government will also remove the Lifetime Allowance charge from 6 April 2023, before fully abolishing the Lifetime Allowance in a future Finance Bill.
• The starting rate for savings will be frozen at £5,000, enabling individuals with less than £17,570 in employment income to receive up to £5,000 of savings income free of tax.

Reforms to boost employment and reduce economic inactivity

• The Government will provide £4.1 billion by 2027/28 to deliver 30 hours a week of free childcare for eligible working parents of children aged 9 months up to 3 years in England, where eligibility will match the existing 3-4 year old 30 hours offer.
• Over-50s will be able to access ‘returnerships’, focussing on flexibility and previous experience to reduce training length.
• The Government will provide £11.5 million to help Ukrainians war who have arrived in the UK under the Ukraine Visa Schemes to boost their English language skills and enter employment.
• The Government will accept the Migration Advisory Committee’s (MAC) interim recommendations to initially add five construction occupations to the Shortage Occupation List (SOL).

Energy and levelling up

• The Government will maintain the Energy Price Guarantee across the UK at £2,500 per year for the typical household for an additional three months (April to June 2023). The Energy Bills Discount Scheme will provide all eligible businesses and other non-domestic energy users across the UK with a discount on high energy bills until 31 March 2024.
• A third round of the Levelling Up Fund will proceed as planned later in 2023 with a further £1 billion to level up places across the UK.
• Government is considering withdrawing all remaining support for Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) from April 2024. DLUHC and DBT will consult on this decision.
• 12 Investment Zones will be launched across the UK, which will receive fiscal incentives and flexible spending powers. More information can be found here – none of the 12 Zones are in London