Budget 2020: the headlines

The key tax measure announcements include: 

• Entrepreneurs’ Relief for Capital Gains Tax – the lifetime limit will be reduced from £10m to £1m
• Employment Allowance for National Insurance will be increased to £4k
• Increase in National Insurance threshold to £9,500
• Research and Development and Structures and Buildings allowance rates to increase
• Introduction of a Stamp Duty Land Tax surcharge of 2% for non-UK residents, from April 2021
• Corporation tax rate will remain at 19%
• Taper of pensions annual allowance – increasing both thresholds by £90,000: reducing minimum annual allowance to £4,000
• Business rates holiday for retail and leisure businesses with a rateable value of less than £51k for one year
• Small businesses qualifying for business rates relief will receive a cash grant of £3,000
• Statutory Sick Pay for those affected by Coronavirus will be refunded to employers by the Government in full for up to 14 days for businesses with fewer than 250 employees
• Fuel Duty freeze continues
• Introduction of a new Plastic Packaging Tax
• Tax relief on red diesel abolished for many sectors but retained for farming and fishing
• VAT to be removed from books and other publications, however delivered: a removal of the “reading tax” on digital publications from December 2020
• Additional funding for HMRC to tackle tax avoidance and evasion