“For a government whose number one ambition is economic growth – and a Chancellor who certainly had the opportunity to go for growth today – this was not the Budget to deliver a much-needed confidence boost to UK plc. Our members have consistently told us that doing business is too expensive, too difficult and too uncertain. That’s why we asked the Chancellor to guarantee no further business taxes in this Parliament and to set the conditions for businesses to deliver growth.

“It’s a chilling time for business confidence – many still scarred from last year’s Budget – but while today’s measures have not been a hit to business, the opportunity to back much-needed investment has been missed.

“In particular, reduced business investment, can only mean lower growth in the future.

“While the costs of this Budget will be borne by more people paying more tax, in a recent poll our members told us that unless this Budget signalled a clear change of course from the Government, it will not be able to deliver the conditions for growth the UK needs. This is a necessity for UK plc – we continue to urge the Government to realise its growth ambition and support British businesses.”

Commenting on the APR/BPR following successful policy engagement work, Alan said:

“We are pleased that the government had listened to the concerns raised by ICAEW and others in making the £1 million 100% APR/BPR allowance transferable between spouses. Individuals whose spouses passed away before 6 April 2026 will also be entitled to an additional £1m allowance, which is a welcome measure that rightly mirrors the existing rules for the nil rate band and residence nil rate band.”

Suren Thiru, Economics Director at ICAEW, commented on the economic impact of today’s Autumn Budget:

“The OBR’s updated forecasts paint an unmistakeably more downbeat picture of the UK’s economic prospects, underscoring the damaging impact from poorer productivity and the squeeze from further tax rises.

“Any boost to consumer spending – a key driver of economic growth – from the rising minimum wage and lower energy bills is likely to be limited by extending the freeze on thresholds hauling more people into higher tax bands.

“While the Chancellor is right on the need to boost productivity, with few new measures to address the supply side constraints limiting our economic potential, the UK remains somewhat exposed to future shocks, despite the greater fiscal headroom.

“Though the deflationary impact of lower energy bills and the mishmash of high taxes means a December rate cut looks nailed on, the upward pressure from the higher minimum wage means that future policy decisions may be more problematic.”

Adelle Greenwood, ICAEW Technical Manager – Employment Taxes and NIC, commented on today's announcement by the Chancellor that national insurance contributions (NIC) will be payable by the employer and employee from April 2029 on salary over £2,000 given up in return for pension contributions:

“The government’s announcement that the NIC base will be broadened to include salary sacrifice pension contributions above a new limit will disappoint employers, particularly as it comes so soon after the increase in the rate of employers’ NIC to 15%. Not only will it add to employers’ NIC bills, it will also make the tax system more complicated for employers to administer and for employees to understand. This will add to employer’s NIC bills and also make it more complex for employers to offer a simple and flexible solution for retirement savings.

“For example, some employees use salary sacrificed pension contributions to manage exposure to the high-income child benefit charge or retain their personal allowance. They will need to consider how the changes impact on their wider tax and NIC position. Also, lower paid employees may question the fairness of the measure as they face a NIC charge at 8%, compared to 2% for higher paid employees.

“The changes to salary sacrifice may require changes to employment contracts and benefits packages, using up time and resources that could be better spent contributing to growing the UK’s economy. At a time when there is a pensions commission considering the adequacy of pension saving, this demonstrates a lack of joined-up thinking from the government.”

Ed Saltmarsh, ICAEW Technical Manager, VAT and Customs, commented on today's announcement by the Chancellor of the introduction of a new mileage charge for electric vehicles (EVs):

“The introduction of the eVED addresses the inevitable decline in fuel duty revenue and is a step in the right direction towards necessary road pricing. However, the failure to introduce a corresponding rise in fuel duty shifts incentives away from electric vehicles.

“To truly drive the green transition, the tax system should be maintaining, if not widening, the gap between electric and petrol running costs.

“Add to this the possible administrative headache of a new system requiring upfront mileage estimates and the disincentive becomes clear.”

Commenting on today's announcement by the Chancellor that a new VAT relief for business donations of goods to charity will be introduced from 1 April 2026, Ed said:

“We welcome the move to introduce this VAT relief. The existing VAT treatment creates a perverse incentive: business face no VAT liability when disposing of goods to landfill but may incur one when donating those same goods to charity. The change being introduced strikes a sensible balance between simplicity and countering fraud.”

Katherine Ford, ICAEW Technical Manager, Personal Tax, commented on today's announcement by the Chancellor that she will extend frozen thresholds:

“Freezing the personal allowance means that more people are brought into the tax system, many of whom will be pensioners as the state pension continues to rise, adding to already considerable strain on HMRC. We look forward to seeing the details of the Government’s proposal to keep those with only small amounts of tax due on their state pensions out of Simple Assessment in future years. 

“It is important that HMRC has the resources it needs to give taxpayers the help they deserve. We will continue to work with HMRC to ensure that all taxpayers are able to meet their tax obligations in a timely and efficient manner.”

ENDS

Notes to editors: