The UK 2024 Autumn Budget

The overall sentiment from the Budget is mixed. Some areas were as expected and some a little better than had been feared. But a Budget raising £40bn in taxes does not come easy, and businesses are taking on the lion’s share of the burden with changes in employment laws, national minimum wage, and significant increases to employers’ national insurance contributions (NIC). The combination of all of these measures, and their scale, will be concerning the business community.  

The Budget introduced a series of changes to environmental taxes designed to accelerate the reduction of carbon emissions, incentivise green technologies, and promote the circular economy.  This article summarises the key environmental tax changes announced.

In the UK’s first Budget delivered by a female chancellor, and Labour’s first Budget since March 2010, the Government committed itself to delivering on promises made throughout its election manifesto. This means ‘invest, invest, invest’ and the message that UK economic growth is key, with many specific schemes being provided with funding over multi-year periods to effect this. However, the delicate balancing act needed to support this promise remains, largely, to be seen and one cost of this has come in the form of increased taxes.

In a Budget plagued by trepidation on how the Chancellor might plug the ‘£22bn black hole’ with tax changes, the Budget announcements have seen several changes that impact landowners and rural businesses.

The long-awaited first Autumn Budget since Labour won the General Election in July has introduced significant changes that will impact the private equity industry. Tax rises amounting to £40bn were announced together with spending cuts and changes to the definition of debt to allow for investment in infrastructure projects. 

The Autumn Budget 2024 included several changes that will have consequences for the real estate sector, most notably the changes to the rates of capital gains tax (CGT) and stamp duty land tax (SDLT).