TAX CUTS

Yesterday, the new chancellor scrapped most of the government’s mini-Budget announcements. Have any of the announcements from 23 September survived the latest round of U-turns?

Jeremy Hunt announced that the cutting of the basic rate of income tax, from 20% to 19%, would be postponed indefinitely - until “economic conditions allow a reduction”. This had been rumoured toward the end of last week, but that wasn’t the end of the U-turns. The planned cutting of dividend tax (which was increased in line with NI) has also been scrapped, as has the reversal of the off-payroll working rules. The cap on energy bills that was set to last for two years will now be reassessed in April.

The only major measures that remain from the mini-Budget are the changes to NI, stamp duty land tax, and the permanent increase of the annual investment allowance to £1 million.