Following Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's 2022 Autumn Statement announcement, we've covered the key points to consider for VAT & Duties and other business taxes.

VAT & Duties

VAT registration and deregistration thresholds will be held at £85,000 for an additional two years from April 2024

Tariffs on over 100 goods will be removed for two years to help put downward pressure on costs for UK producers. The measure will remove tariffs as high as 18% on goods ranging from aluminium frames used by UK bicycle manufacturers to ingredients used by UK food producers.

Reflecting the success of the transition to electric vehicles, the Government will introduce Vehicle Excise Duty on electric cars, vans and motorcycles from April 2025.

Other business taxes 

Support for high street businesses will be provided by reducing the burden of business rates: freezing multipliers, increasing relief for retail, hospitality and leisure to 75%; reforming transitional reliefs on revaluations by the Exchequer funding the scheme and abolishing downward caps. This will not apply in Scotland, and we’ll need to await the Scottish Government’s response.   

The Government also announced that they will not be taking forward the introduction of a new Online Sales Tax (OST). The Government’s decision reflects concerns raised about an OST’s complexity and the risk of creating unintended distortion or unfair outcomes between different business models. 

Get in touch

Read the rest of our Autumn Statement analysis on our Budget Hub, and for more information or to discuss any of today's announcements, please don't hesitate to get in touch with me.