Written in association with Jeff Whitcombe of BCF Wessex
LESS than a week ago political commentators and pundits were predicting that inheritance tax would be cut in the Autumn Statement delivered by Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, on 22 November 2023; perhaps with some movement on corporation tax to boost investment, but that was it.
The Prime Minister trailed heavily in a speech delivered at Lancaster House just two days before the Autumn Statement that higher than anticipated tax receipts might have provided headroom for income tax cuts. Then, just a day later, National Insurance (NI) reductions were touted, because they cost less than income tax cuts as NI is only paid by those who work, and not pensioners for example.
So, what did we actually get in the Autumn Statement?
Well, after a typical week in politics before a Chancellor’s speech, the Chancellor delivered NI cuts for both the employed and the self-employed, and confirmed that ‘full expensing’ for assets, introduced temporarily in April 2023, and which is effectively an enhanced capital allowance to encourage companies to invest, will be made permanent.
In a highly politicised arena, with the Autumn Statement and next Spring’s Budget being the only opportunities for the government to change its fortunes ahead of the next general election, the Chancellor focused on a raft of initiatives designed to increase business investment and enhance productivity in order to stimulate further economic growth.
But which measures in the 2023 Autumn Statement should leasing brokers take note?
National Insurance
The main rate of Class 1 NI paid by employees will be reduced from 6 January 2024 from 12% to just 10%, delivering an annual saving of around £450 to the average employee’s net pay.
So what’s the impact on salary sacrifice? The reduction to savings available for basic rate taxpayers will be minimal compared with the total NI savings they’ll make as a result of this announcement.
And let’s not forget that this measure will not affect the savings generated by UK resident higher or additional rate taxpayers, although some Scottish higher rate taxpayers will be affected due to the different income tax thresholds for Scottish taxpayers.
National Minimum Wage (NMW)
With the NMW being significantly uplifted to £11.44 per hour from 1 April 2024, which is equivalent to around £20,800 per annum for someone working 35 hours per week.
This is generally good news for the lower paid, but it could affect the ability of some employees to participate in salary sacrifice schemes.
Corporation tax relief – Full expensing
Full expensing offers enhanced capital allowances for qualifying plant and machinery; originally intended to be available for just three years the relief has been made permanent, but it should be borne in mind that whilst it applies to vans and lorries, cars continue to be excluded.
As they would ordinarily qualify as main rate expenditure vans and lorries will qualify for a 100% first year allowance, but a 100% balancing charge must be recognised on disposal, effectively adding the sales proceeds to taxable profits.
Special rate assets will be eligible for a 50% first year allowance, with a corresponding balancing charge recognised on disposal; the remaining expenditure on these assets qualifies for a 6% annual writing down allowance in the normal way.
Assets bought to lease continue to be excluded from any form of enhanced capital allowance. But hidden within the documents published alongside the Autumn Statement HM Treasury referred to its ongoing dialogue with a leasing industry working group, and its intention to publish a technical consultation to mitigate error and technical abuses in the hope that enhanced capital allowances can once again be made available to those that buy to lease.
In its own commentary on the Autumn Statement the BVRLA said:
“The government is banking on permanent full expensing to unleash a wave of new business investment across the UK, but by excluding rental and leasing it is missing a massive opportunity. Our research shows that opening these powerful tax incentives up to the rental and leasing sectors could unlock an additional £1bn worth of investment into low and zero emission commercial vehicles. We will continue to work closely with HM Treasury and HMRC on their technical consultation and push for the unfair vehicle rental and leasing exclusion to be removed.”
Van benefit charge/Car and van fuel benefit charges
Ordinarily these are updated each year in line with inflation but in a surprise announcement the government has said they will be frozen at the current rates in 2024/25.
Vehicle Excise Duty (VED)
From 1 April 2024 VED for cars, vans and motorcycles will be uprated in line with inflation.
But to support the haulage industry VED for HGVs) and the HGV levy will be frozen at the current rates in 2024/25.
Fuel duty
No change was announced to the current, temporary 5ppl fuel duty cut. This will remain in place until March 2024, with no announcement expected about an extension until the Spring Budget is held.
Conclusion
On the face of it the 2023 Autumn Statement might seem to offer little to the fleet sector, but the announcement of a consultation on making the significant benefits of full expensing available to leasing companies is a huge step in the right direction and vindicates the BVRLA’s long standing campaign to ensure that those who buy to lease are offered the same incentives as other taxpayers.
What did other organisations say about the 2023 Autumn Statement?
Paul Hollick, chair, AFP, said:
“The public finances are in slightly better shape than expected and inflation is now below the prime minister’s stated 5% target, so this Autumn Statement was very much about cementing the idea – if not necessarily the reality – of economic recovery ahead of next year’s election.
“The measures taken, especially those to encourage investment, are to be welcomed in general terms and some businesses operating fleets will no doubt take advantage of them. However, it doesn’t change the underlying truth that the economy remains in pretty poor shape and that while inflation is falling, it remains relatively high. There’s also little in there to specifically support the motor industry or the fleet sector, although the £2bn allocated to EV manufacturing is to be welcomed and the planning changes for chargers could potentially speed rollout.”
Caroline Sandall-Mansergh, consultancy and channels development manager, Alphabet GB
“While the increase of the national living wage (NLW) is another welcomed improvement for the public, it is also important to acknowledge the impact this will have on salary sacrifice schemes. As the NLW increases, the threshold for salary sacrifice eligibility increases with it, meaning lower-earning employees may not be granted the benefit.
“With this in mind, it will be important for those who manage fleet to review the schemes they have in place, seeking expertise where needed, to ensure employees’ access to benefits such as company vehicles can remain in place without significant disruption.”
Karl Howkins, managing director of SOGO
“Sustained and coordinated effort is required to accelerate the adoption of EVs and wider ULEVs in the next decade. Today’s measures follow the announcement of £2 billion in funding to support net zero goals and the move to electric car production.
“SOGO is calling for an extension of London’s scrappage scheme to operate nationwide. It’s an effective way to help drivers make the move to greener mobility choices.”
Philip Nothard, chair, VRA
“It was encouraging to see a £2bn investment in zero emissions manufacturing although given the scale of global spending on EV investment, this is a relatively small amount.
“There’s also no sign of additional help to support electric cars in the used car sector. We know that large numbers of EVs are about to enter the remarketing cycle and that there isn’t necessarily the demand in the market to soak up that volume. Measures such as subsidies or interest free loans may be needed at some point before the end of the decade.”
Automotive and fleet writer for Broker News
