Download POLICY CHANGES AT A GLANCE 20 th March 2013

BRITISH CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE: BUDGET 2013:
POLICY CHANGES AT A GLANCE 20th March 2013
BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
Business Regulation
Planning
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International Trade
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Enterprise
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Labour Market & Skills
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Pensions
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Access To Finance /
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2nd phase of Red Tape Challenge to be launched in summer 2013 (infrastructure and key stages in business growth)
Reduced fees charged to businesses from regulators (further details to be announced)
Streamlined process for appealing decisions by economic regulators appeals
Will remove or reform 58% of aviation and two-thirds of maritime regulations
In the summer the government will publish significantly reduced planning guidance, in line with Lord Matthew Taylor’s
recommendations BCC WIN
The Ministry of Justice plans for shortening the time limits for bringing a planning judicial review and will set out in
spring 2013.
UKTI targets for assisting UK businesses to attend overseas trade exhibitions is more than doubled from last year’s
figure of 3,200 to 8,000 – but with no new funding announced
£15 million for the (export-oriented) digital content industry and extension of zero-rating on VAT for sales of goods to
non-EU destinations
£30 million for SME Growth Vouchers programme in England over 2013/14 and 2014/15. It will test a variety of
approaches to help SMEs overcome barriers to growth including external advice on recruitment, accessing finance and
investment-readiness BCC WIN
Sickness Absence Review – employer health-related interventions up to £500 will not be treated as a benefit in kind BCC
WIN
Employee shareholders – this new employment status will now also include income tax and NICs relief on the first
£2,000 of shares received by ‘employee shareholders’
Employer-provided benefits in kind: beneficial loans – The Finance Bill 2014 will increase the threshold for the small
loans exemption limit from £5,000 to £10,000.
Funding for the Skills Investment Fund (film and digital content) will be increased to £8 million each year over the next
two years.
Single Tier Pension (and ending of contracting out for employers with DB schemes) to be introduced from 2016 (a year
earlier than previously announced)
The government is publishing the first strategy for the Business Bank on 22nd March 2013 which sets out an accelerated
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Business Bank
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Infrastructure
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Infrastructure Finance
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Energy
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Housing
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Local Economic
Development
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timetable for how the Business Bank will deploy £1 billion of new capital, improve existing schemes and develop a
lasting new institution to support SME growth by the end of 2014. BCC WIN
£300 million investment scheme this spring to invest alongside private investors in financial institutions and non-bank
lending channels to help diversify and expand the supply of lending to SMEs and mid-sized businesses
£75 million of new funding for venture capital through an extension to the Enterprise Capital Fund programme (£25
billion) and an expanded Business Angel Co-investment Fund (£50 billion) to support start ups and early stage companies
Support more lenders to increase SME lending through the Enterprise Finance Guarantee by maintaining the guarantee
cap introduced at 20 per cent
Capital investment plans will be increased by £3 billion a year from 2015/16.
Infrastructure Capacity Plans to drive forward progress in key government departments will be established by the
summer
The government will consider options for making more use of independent expertise in shaping its infrastructure
strategy. BCC WIN
Increase capital spending plans by £3 billion a year from 2015/16, to lock in recent increases in capital spending over the
Spending Review 2010 period, funded through reductions in current spending.
The government intends to take forward two Carbon Capture and Storage projects to the detailed planning and design
stage of the competition BCC WIN
A new shale gas field allowance will be introduced and the budget will extend the ring-fence expenditure supplement
from six to ten years for shale gas projects
In July 2013 new technical planning guidance on shale gas will be produced and proposals to ensure that local
communities will benefit from shale gas projects in their area will be published
Contracts on decommissioning relief on the UK Continental Shelf will be signed later in 2013
The government will create a new Help to Buy scheme. The government will provide equity loans worth up to 20 per
cent of the value of a new build home, repayable once the home is sold, and widen the eligibility criteria including
increasing the maximum home value to £600,000 and removing the income cap constraint. The government will also
create a mortgage guarantee for lenders who offer mortgages to people with a deposit of between 5 per cent and 20
per cent on homes with a value of up to £600,000.
The £200 million Build to Rent fund announced at Autumn Statement 2012 will be expanded to £1 billion to support the
development of more homes in England.
An additional £225 million to support a further 15,000 affordable homes starting in England will be made available by
2015.
Heseltine Review: government confirmed its commitment to implementing the majority of the Review’s
recommendations (following publication of the government’s formal response on 18th March). See separate BCC
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Public Sector Pay
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Briefing, available on the Chamber Hub
Witty Review: Sir Andrew Witty will undertake independent review to into how universities can support Local
Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and other local actors to drive growth in their area
Public sector pay awards in 2015/16 will be limited to an average of up to 1% - extending the growth cap by one year
TAX CHANGES
Business Taxation /
simplification
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Business Rates
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Personal Taxation and
Benefits (including council
tax)
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The main rate of corporation tax to fall from 21% to 20% from April 2015
Cancelation of the fuel duty increase that was planned for 1 September 2013
Limited extension of the capital gains tax holiday to continue to encourage investors to take up the Seed Enterprise
Investment Scheme. Any investors making capital gains in 2013/14 will receive a 50 per cent capital gains tax relief when
they reinvest those gains into seed companies in either 2013/14 or 2014/15
Stamp duty on Shares for companies listed on growth markets including the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) and
the ISDX Growth Market, will be abolished from April 2014
The government has also decided that the first £2,000 of share value that anyone receives under the new status will be
free from income tax and NICs
A crackdown on tax avoidance and evasion, which is expected to raise £4.6 billion over the next five years. As part of
this, the government will remove the presumption of self-employment for limited liability partnership
The government will introduce a new tax relief encourage private investment in social enterprise. The government will
consult formally on the details of the relief by summer 2013 and the relief will be introduced in Finance Bill 2014
National Insurance for self-employed - the government will consult on ways to simplify the administrative process by
using Self Assessment to collect Class 2 NICs alongside income tax and Class 4 NICs
No new measures announced in Budget 2013 – just confirmation of Autumn Statement changes (temporary doubling of
the Small Business Rate Relief scheme extended for a further 12 months from 1 April 2013 until April 2014; all newly
built commercial property completed between 1 October 2013 and 30 September 2016 will be exempt from empty
property rates for the first 18 months, up to state aids limits)
Income tax personal allowance will be increased to £10,000 in 2014/15
Confirmed Autumn Statement announcement that the basic rate limit will decrease to £31,865 in 2014/15 and the
higher rate threshold will increase by 1% to £41,865
New Employment Allowance of £2,000 per year for all businesses and charities to be offset against their employer NICs
bill from April 2014.
The government will consult by summer 2013 on the introduction of a new tax relief to encourage investment into social
enterprises. The outcome of the consultation will be confirmed at Autumn Statement 2013.
Tax-Free Childcare Scheme –vouchers worth up to £1,200 per child (20% of childcare costs up to £6,000 per child),
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Environmental Taxation
(including Fuel Duty)
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phased in from Autumn 2015. Existing members of Employer Supported Childcare (ESC) can choose to remain in that
scheme
From April 2016 the childcare element of Universal Credit will be increased to cover 85% of childcare costs.
Ceramics and other industries will be made exempt from the Climate Change Levy BCC WIN
This September’s fuel duty increase has been cancelled BCC WIN
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