As an accountant, you may well be wondering how the latest Autumn Statement will impact your practice. What changes will you need to pass onto your clients? Will there be any significant changes? Our members are advised by our expert-led team on the Autumn Budget and 2023 will be no different.

Jeremy Hunt has announced that the 2023 Autumn Statement will take place on Wednesday 22 November 2023. 20:20 Innovation will be offering both members and non-members an Autumn Statement PDF from as little as £176.

Read on for more information about the 2023 Autumn Statement and discover how 20:20 Innovation can help. If you would like more information about joining why not book a free 30-minute demo with our team today.

What is the Autumn Statement?

The Autumn Statement is based on forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility, delivered by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. It is an update on the government's plans for the economy.

This year's Autumn Budget is particularly interesting with a general election on the horizon. As an accountant, you may well be looking for any taxpayer-friendly, vote-winning measures.

What were the important takeaways from the 2022 Autumn Statement?

In 2022, the Autumn Statement took place in November. It contained income tax freezes and reduced the capital gains tax annual exemption, the dividend allowance and the additional rate threshold. Following the 2022 Autumn Statement we saw:

- A Spring Budget, and;
- The publication of a Finance Bill for 2022/23 on 23rd March

We expect to see a similar train of events this year.

What can accountants expect to see in the 2023 Autumn Statement?

We cannot be certain about what the Chancellor will announce, but we can talk about what is likely to happen. Our predictions are based on documents that have already been published by HMRC. This means we can make more reliable predictions about what will be announced on 22 November.

Let's take a look at some of the possible announcements and how they might impact your accountancy business.

Will the Autumn Statement include any tax cuts?

Paying taxes in a cost-of-living crisis will be high on your clients' agenda, particularly for small businesses. Going on previous statements, Jeremy Hunt told the BBC:

“If we are going to put money in people’s pockets quickly the fastest thing I can do is deliver the Prime Minister’s pledge to halve inflation”.

Hunt is under pressure from Conservative MPs to make tax deductions ahead of the general election next year. This could mean we see tax cuts in the Autumn Statement.

Making tax digital for income tax

Further to the delays announced in 2022 there is a question of whether more news will follow in the Autumn Statement. This year we have seen a critical National Audit Office report on value for money and progress with Making Tax Digital, followed by a Public Accounts Committee Inquiry.

The professional bodies continue to raise concerns, particularly in regard to the viability and need for quarterly reporting for income tax purposes. It will be interesting to see if there is any further movement on scope, pilots or the currently planned April 2026 start date.

Review into the needs of smaller businesses

When the MTD for income tax deferral was announced in December 2022, HMRC also said that they would conduct a review into the needs of smaller businesses, and particularly those under the £30,000 income threshold. 

The review was to consider whether MTD for income tax could be shaped to meet the needs these smaller businesses and the best way for them to fulfil their Income Tax obligations. There is a growing expectation that we’ll hear more on this initiative at the Autumn Statement.

Expanding the cash basis for the self-employed

A consultation took place this summer and we know that HMRC are currently analysing the responses. Whether any expansion is by:

1. Increased turnover thresholds

2. Setting the cash-basis as the default for more businesses

3. Increasing the limit on interest deductions, or 

4. By relaxing the restrictions on loss relief

It isn’t unreasonable to expect the Chancellor to have some news for us this Autumn. It is certainly an area where relaxations will sound good to the voting public, even if in reality the cash-basis may remain unsuitable for a number of businesses.

Construction Industry Scheme reform

This is another area where HMRC are considering responses to a summer consultation. The reform could be quite significant and so hopefully won’t be rushed. It would certainly be good to receive an update on the direction of travel in November however.

Reform of the Research & Development (R&D) Corporation Tax Reliefs

On 18 July, HMRC published draft legislation for a new R&D tax relief scheme. The proposal is to merge the current RDEC scheme (for larger companies) with the SME scheme (for small and medium-sized companies). We outlined the features of the proposed new scheme in an article that you can read here. 

Unusually, the Government emphasised that they have not yet committed to implementing the new scheme, even though its proposed start date is 1 April 2024! Hence it is very likely that we’ll have some kind of certainty in the Autumn Statement.

Umbrella companies

The consultation, ‘Tackling Non-Compliance in the Umbrella Company Market’ closed on 29 August and we are likely to see measures that regulate the umbrella company market, address employment rights issues in the market, and target tax avoidance, in particular abuse of the employment allowance and the VAT flat rate scheme.

Pensions

Pensions and benefits are always a big focus of any financial statement, though there are not many rumours about potential changes. We predict the ‘triple lock’ on pensions will stay in place for now and pensioners can expect around an 8% increase to their state pension. There may be other changes to pensions reliefs and benefits, and we will keep you up to date as and when we hear any news.

Taxation of cryptoassets

Further to a consultation this summer on the taxation of decentralised finance involving the lending and staking of cryptoassets, we can potentially expect to hear more about a new framework for this area.

Tax administration framework review (TAFR)

We can expect an update on the TAFR as launched in 2021. There has been another round of consultation this summer on HMRC’s information and data gathering powers, designing more flexible legislation and considering pre-population of returns, amongst other topics. One to watch, without doubt.

Can 20:20 Innovation help support firms with Autumn Statement announcements?

We are delighted to announce that for the Autumn Statement on 22 November 2023, you can now purchase a personalised PDF summary covering all the key points.

Our Autumn Statement webinar will be taking place on 23rd November, so be sure to book your place to be kept up to date with what you need to know and what you should be talking to clients about.

If you would like more information about joining 20:20 Innovation why not book a free 30-minute demo with our team today.