It’s time for the first statement given by the new Chancellor, Philip Hammond (and the last - as from 2017 there will be a Spring statement instead.) The Autumn Statement is important for all businesses, announcing as it does information vital to startups and SMEs for the year ahead. But we understand that entrepreneurs don’t have the time to sit through all the jeering to get to the key points – so we’ve done the hard work for you. Below are the points that startups need to know about the Autumn Statement.
- Economic growth to be 1.4% next year, revised down from 2.2%
- £23bn to be invested in a new productivity and innovation investment fund over the next 5 years
- New Oxford to Cambridge expressway to help create the UK’s Silicon Valley
- £1.1bn of investment in English local transport networks, such as road improvements and digital signalling on our railways, in order to improve connectivity across the country
- More than £1bn to be invested in digital infrastructure with 100% business rates relief on investments in new fibre infrastructure
- Doubling UK export finance to make it easier for British businesses to export
- £400m to be invested into Venture Capital funding through the British Business Bank
- A Treasury-led review is to look at the barriers for accessing startup capital
- Investment in local infrastructure into every region in England to help combat productivity gaps between London and the rest of the country
- £1.8bn allocation from the local growth fund for English regions
- Every city in Scotland to benefit from a City Deal
- Corporation tax will fall to 17%, the lowest in the G20
- Rural rate relief of 100%, resulting in savings to small businesses in rural areas
- ‘Salary sacrifice’ schemes are to be taxed as cash from April 2017; however childcare benefits and Cycle to Work scheme will be protected
- New restrictions on tax relief for corporate interest expenses
- Raising the tax-free personal allowance to £12,500 during the 2020s, and higher rate tax threshold will be £50,000 by the end of this parliament
- National Living Wage to increase from £7.20 to £7.50 in April 2017
- Clampdown on unregulated fees from letting agents
- Cancelling fuel duty rise for seventh successive year, saving money for drivers
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