Spring Statement 2018: A Summary of the Main Announcements

On March 13th, Chancellor Philip Hammond carried out the Spring Statement 2018, the first one after the Budget was moved to the Autumn. As you might imagine, at Keith Graham Chartered Accountants we were watching and following all the announcements with interest as they were made.

While the Spring Statement is not as comprehensive as the Budget (the Chancellor spoke for a mere 26 minutes), there were still a number of announcements that might affect your business, and here is a roundup of the most important

The Big Announcements

There were various announcements about the state of the UK economy. The Chancellor revealed that debt has fallen for the first time in 17 years and that it will fall faster than had previously been expected. But at the same time, GDP growth is now predicted to be down in 2021/22.

With Brexit looming large, it was also no surprise to hear some news relating to Britain leaving the EU, and the Chancellor revealed that £1.5 billion has been allocated in preparation for a ‘No Deal’ scenario.

And although it won’t affect our clients directly, the government will be consulting on the amount of tax that multinational firms pay, especially companies that provide digital services in the UK. The government is considering setting up a new system for online sales to tackle the challenges posed by the digital economy.

Change to Business Rates Revaluation

On top of the big economic announcements, there were a number of announcements that will affect smaller businesses across the UK, and perhaps the most important related to Business Rates. The Chancellor announced that the next revaluation will be in 2021 instead of 2022 and that revaluations will now be held every three years.

Broadband Funding

Back in the Budget 2017, the government announced £190 million in funding for better broadband across the country, and now this is starting to be allocated. The first allocation will consist of £95 million. This will help to boost connectivity, which is great news for businesses that suffer from slow connections.

Late Payments to Be Reviewed

One of the most welcome announcements was regarding late payments. Prior to the Spring Statement 2018, Mike Cherry, the chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), called on the government to tackle this problem. Late payments seriously hurt small businesses, with 50,000 closing last year alone because of the problem.

The Chancellor said that the government will act on this, which will lead to a boost in productivity. Hopefully, it will help small businesses, contractors and freelancers spend less time chasing up late invoices so they can improve cash flow.

T-Levels to Receive £500 Million Extra

Another announcement regarded T-Levels, and the government will allocate £500 million to these qualifications to help more businesses offer them. £50 million will go to employers and £80 million to small businesses so they can take on more apprentices.

We’ll Keep You Informed of Any Changes

The Spring Statement 2018 may have been short, but it contained lots of important information. As experienced accountants in Surrey and Hampshire, we keep on top of all the latest news, and not just the Spring Statement and the Budget but all the other changes that are constantly being made to taxes and regulations in the UK.

It’s one of the advantages of working with an experienced accountant. We’ll always keep you informed with the latest information you need to know to run your business effectively.