Instead, the spotlight shone primarily on the well-publicised changes to National Insurance contributions. With the self-employed benefiting from the abolition of Class II NICs, and the employed seeing a 2% reduction in Class I NICs from January next year, Rishi Sunak will be hoping to oversee a (of late, elusive) ‘good news story’ for the Government. However, no movement on the tax rates and thresholds may well mean that the overall take home pay impact of these NIC changes will be economically limited.
The Chancellor’s commitment to the pensions triple lock provided good news for pensioners. Future pensioners also have cause for celebration, following the announcement of a call for evidence on a lifetime provider pensions model. With the goal of tackling the longstanding problem of “small pot” pensions, introduction of a lifetime provider model would allow employees to change employer but retain continuity of pension contributions within their existing scheme – providing individuals with greater agency and control of their pension pot.
Encouraging individuals back into the workplace was another theme of this Autumn Statement. In addition to proposed welfare changes for those on out-of-work benefits, the Government today published a policy paper setting out the final stages in the course to abolish the pensions Lifetime Allowance (LTA). Steps to remove the LTA – which had been identified by many to a barrier to over 50s wishing to return to or continue work – had already begun following the 2023 Spring Budget and the Finance (No.2) Act 2023 1, and today’s policy paper is set to complete this process and provide clarification on the tax treatment of pension savings.
The Chancellor announced numerous measures to help British businesses but made little reference (other than an aside regarding the Labour Party’s views on immigration and free movement) to encouraging inward investment through immigration. What he did say was that changes to the UK’s business visitor visa scheme will be introduced from January 2024, to broaden and clarify what activities can be undertaken in the intra-corporate setting, to widen the coverage for the legal services sector and simplify arrangements for those undertaking paid engagements.
Welcome news for the Real Estate sector came in the form of a commitment to invest an additional £32 million across housing and planning, to deliver thousands of new homes across the country. Specific beneficiaries of this spending will include Local Planning Authorities (LPAs), who will receive increased funding to tackle planning backlogs, and the introduction of a new Permitted Development Right set to enable one house to be more easily converted into two homes. The sector may, however, find its enthusiasm tempered by the announcement of a 6.7% rise in annual chargeable amounts for ATED for 2024/25 (taken from September’s CPI figure), which will result in charges set out in the table below.
| Property value | Annual charge |
| More than £500,000 up to £1 million | £4,400 |
| More than £1 million up to £2 million | £9,000 |
| More than £2 million up to £5 million | £30,550 |
| More than £5 million up to £10 million | £71,500 |
| More than £10 million up to £20 million | £143,550 |
| More than £20 million | £287,500 |
1 The Act having removed the LTA charge and delivered changes to support its removal.
Dominic Condé-Cole
Counsel
Dominic has extensive experience in advising national and international high net worth and ultra high net worth individuals, businesses and listed companies on UK taxation and wealth planning.
