March 2021 budget - headlines

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has this afternoon announced his much anticipated budget to the House. As expected, it was very in-depth, with lots to digest.

The headline announcements are as follows:

• the furlough scheme has been extended to 30 September. The terms for employees will not change, with employers being asked to pay 10% of the wages in July and 20% in August and September

• the SEISS scheme has been extended, with two further grants available. These grants also apply to those whose self-assessment tax returns for 2019/20 were their first. The scheme will be open from late July

• the stamp duty holiday has been extended to 30 June, with the £nil rate being increased to £250k up to 30 September

• government will guarantee 95% mortgages for those who only have a 5% deposit

• bounceback loans replaced by new recovery loans of up to £10m, which will be 80% guaranteed by the government

• reduced rate of 5% VAT for retail, hospitality and leisure sectors to remain until the end of September, before increasing to 12.5% and finally back up to 20% next April

• the business rates holiday for the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors will continue until the end of June, and be discounted by two thirds for the remaining 9 months of the year

• the personal allowance will be frozen at £12,570 from April 2022 to April 2026

• the higher rate income tax threshold will be frozen at £50,270 from April 2022 to April 2026

• corporation tax rates will rise to 25% from April 2023, for those businesses with annual profits in excess of £250k. Businesses with profits of less than £50k will be unaffected, with the rates tapering upwards for those in between

• a new ‘super deduction’ of 130% will be available on business investments for a period of two years

My personal view for what it’s worth: a substantial, generous and fair package in light of the devastating circumstances.

As always, should you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us!