The Valued Added Tax (VAT) threshold will be maintained at £85,000, bucking fears the limit would be lowered, the chancellor confirmed in the Budget.
It was also announced that business rates would go up in line with CPI, rather than the typically higher RPI from April 2018.
The switch is worth £2.3bn to business over five years, Hammond said.
Revaluations will also take place every three years, rather than five, after the next valuation due in 2022.
Plans were also announced to help businesses affected including the so-called staircase tax, which relates to a Supreme Court decision last year that ruled companies in multi-occupied buildings were required to have separate business rate assessments.
The chancellor confirmed these businesses could request to have their original bill reinstated.
Gerry Biddle, director of business rates at Deloitte Real Estate, said: “The ruling particularly hit small business occupiers who lost their small business rates relief because they could only qualify if they occupied one property.
“As a result, many small businesses were facing significant bills backdated to 1 April 2015.
“Today’s move means any business affected by this decision can now look forward to having its basis of business rate assessment reinstated and backdated.”
Relief for small business
The Government didn’t make any further changes to the dividend tax, which affects owners of limited companies, who pay themselves through dividends.
Steve Seal, director of sales & distribution, Bluestone Mortgages said: “With the recent speculation of the VAT threshold being lowered, today’s Budget will bring a sigh of relief to contactors, freelancers and entrepreneurs who form a vital part of our 4.85 million strong self-employed workforce.
“This group forms the backbone to our economy and although the government clearly understands this, not all lenders do.
“These borrowers are still more likely to be rejected by high-street lenders due to their complex and irregular income patterns, but specialist lenders are there to help these customers find affordable solutions.
Today’s news is a step in the right direction, but as our economy changes, more still needs to be done by lenders to give these borrowers access to the financial products they need.”
For all Mortgage Solutions’ Budget coverage on the first-time buyer stamp duty exemption, housing policy and the boost for small business click on the links. The government has also launched a fintech competition to make rent history count toward mortgage affordability, changes to rental benefits and the Chancellor’s speech in full.
For all Mortgage Solutions’ Budget coverage on the first-time buyer stamp duty exemption and the rest of the Budget, click on the links below.
The government has also launched a fintech competition to make rent history count toward mortgage affordability, changes to rental benefits and the Chancellor’s speech in full.
An extension of Council Tax liabilities for unoccupied homes was announced and the Office for Budget Responsibility and Building Societies Association have criticised the stamp duty cut.
Meanwhile Mortgage Solutions has dug out a series of hidden measures and rounded-up the best of the coverage.
