Our Budget 2024 wish list
As we near the first Labour Budget in over a decade, we’ve asked a selection of our BHP Partners what they’d like to see announced by Rachel Reeves on Wednesday at noon.
Our joint CEOs, Lisa Leighton and Hamish Morrison, were united in wanting changes to Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR) for SMEs. BADR is a Capital Gains Tax relief which reduces the rate of tax of qualifying gains to 10%. Lisa notes that business owners have taken risks to grow a business and therefore “deserve an appropriate reward”. Hamish added he’d like to see BADR” extended to £10m but with a condition that you have to have worked in the business for more than 25 hours a week for at least two years to qualify”. Andy Haigh, a Corporate Finance Partner, also echoed Hamish and Lisa adding that he’d like to see HMRC acknowledge there is a difference between passive and active assets and as a result, they should be taxed differently with risk taking, investment and entrepreneurship being encouraged through BADR.
The support for SMEs was also championed by Tax Partner Zoe Roberts, who noted it would be fantastic to see “incentives for small/medium employers to take on new staff”.
For Suzy Harris-Milnes, one of our Tax Partners, her request from the Chancellor is a simple one: “A consultation period on any significant changes to legislation”. She noted that after a series of Budgets and Statements (which have sometimes included kneejerk announcements), it would benefit all involved, businesses and Treasury, to be able to have conversations about what can be done to ensure that both the public and private sector can thrive.
The drive for clarity was shared by Tax Partner Dean Pearson who’d like to see “more clarity and certainty for companies who claim R&D tax relief, with increased dialogue between HMRC, agents and claimant companies to provide advance assurance on R&D projects”.
Other dream announcements from our Tax Partners included:
According to Chris Humphreys, “Indexation allowances reintroduced would be a fantastic announcement, meaning individuals are paying tax on actual gains rather than gains generated as a result of inflation”.
Partner Mark Stanton added he’d like to see “a more generous threshold at which smaller companies pay the lower rate of Corporation Tax” to help ensure entrepreneurs aren’t penalised for having multiple small companies.
Ultimately, we all have to wait and see what’s in the Chancellor’s red box on Wednesday but if you’re looking to find out what the announcements will mean for you, then our team would be happy to guide you through it.
