Higher taxes on “behaviour” products Budget 2025 hits several targeted sectors: Remote Gaming Duty sharply increased New vaping excise duty from 2026 Soft Drinks Industry Levy tightened with lower sugar
VAT relief on donations: good news for stock-heavy businesses From 2026, businesses will get VAT relief when donating goods to charity (for qualifying uses). If you: Hold significant stock Regularly
New business rates landscape from 2026 From April 2026: New transitional relief and Supporting Small Business schemes come in. Retail, hospitality and leisure get permanently lower multipliers. Properties with rateable
Better tools to reward key staff Budget 2025 expands Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) limits: More employees can qualify Higher company size thresholds Bigger share option limits Longer holding periods For
The headlines From 2026: A new 40% first-year allowance (FYA) for main rate plant and machinery. The standard writing-down allowance falls from 18% to 14%. This changes the pattern of
A new annual wealth tax by another name From April 2028, England introduces a High Value Council Tax Surcharge on homes worth £2m+. It’s effectively a new annual tax on
The end of easy offshore planning The Budget continues to clamp down on non-dom and offshore planning, including: Tightening the residence-based regime Capping IHT benefits for some excluded property trusts
IHT: more estates dragged into the net The IHT nil-rate band and residence nil-rate band are frozen to April 2031. Meanwhile, asset values, especially property and business values, continue to
The end of “unlimited” NIC-free salary sacrifice Salary sacrifice has long been a favourite planning tool: You cut your salary Your company pays the equivalent into your pension You save