Autumn Statement 2023

Chancellor of the ExchequerThe Chancellor of the Exchequer has delivered his Autumn Statement 2023 to Parliament.

The Treasury news story ‘Chancellor backs business and rewards workers to get Britain growing’ provides a summary of the key points arising in the Autumn Statement, which includes the following measures affecting tax:

  • from 1 April 2024, the national living wage will increase by 9.8% to £11.44 an hour, with the age threshold lowered from 23 to 21 years old;
  • from 1 April 2024, the national minimum wage will be increased to £8.60 an hour for 16–17 year olds and to £6.40 an hour for apprentices;
  • employee National Insurance contributions (NICs) will be cut from 12% to 10% from 6 January 2024;
  • Class 4 NICs will be cut by 1p, from 9% to 8% from 6 April 2024;
  • Class 2 NICs will be abolished, with no one required to pay from 6 April 2024;
  • state pension is set to increase by 8.5% in April 2024;
  • full expensing of capital expenditure will be made permanent so companies can claim 100% capital allowances on qualifying main rate plant and machinery investments;
  • a business rates support package worth £4.3 billion will be introduced over the next 5 years, including a rollover of 75% retail, hospitality and leisure relief and a freeze to the small business multiplier;
  • the existing R&D expenditure credit and small and medium enterprise (SME) scheme will be merged from 1 April 2024;
  • the rate at which loss-making companies are taxed within the merged R&D scheme will be reduced from 25% to 19%, and the threshold for additional support for R&D intensive loss-making SMEs will be lowered from 40% to 30%;
  • the climate change agreement scheme providing for reduced rates of climate change levy will be extended, giving energy intensive businesses around £300 million of tax relief every year until 2033;
  • the investment zones programme and freeport tax reliefs will be extended from 5 years to 10 years;
  • three advanced manufacturing investment zones will be established in Greater Manchester, East Midlands, and West Midlands;
  • duty on all tobacco to increase by RPI plus 2%, with the rate on hand-rolling tobacco to increase by RPI plus 12%, from 22 November 2023; and
  • alcohol duty will be frozen until 1August 2024.

View the Chancellor’s speech in full: Autumn Statement 2023 speech.