Welcome to the latest edition of Newswire – we hope you find it interesting and informative. All content is correct at the time of writing, but we do suggest you speak with us for professional advice, before acting upon anything that you read here.
A few topics covered
U-turns and changes – what happened to the mini-Budget announcements?
What about the measures to help people with their energy bills?
Were any of the benefits kept in place?
Is the National Insurance rise still being scrapped on November 6?
Warning of pain ahead
What does the market volatility mean for you?
Drip-feed investments
Diversify your portfolio
Above all, don’t panic when the markets fall
How to protect your business in a recession
Get your cashflow sorted and deal with any debt
Insulate your business by cutting costs where you can
The Plastic Packaging Tax – what you need to know
When do I need to notify HMRC?
U-turns and changes – what happened to the mini-Budget announcements?
The majority of measures in former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-Budget have been scrapped after new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt tried to settle markets and politicians across the House of Commons with an Emergency Statement on October 17.
Gone is the controversial plan to remove the 45% top rate of tax, and the basic rate of tax will remain at 20% from April next year. Corporation Tax will also increase to 25% from the current 19% from April next year, an announcement made by now former Prime Minister Liz Truss days before she resigned the top job, to be replaced by Rishi Sunak. In addition, the IR35 and dividend tax cut reforms will not go ahead.
What about the measures to help people with their energy bills?
The planned help with the Energy Price Guarantee – one of the key policies in Liz Truss’s short tenure – will remain in place until April 2023, but after this there will be a Treasury-led review into how best to help businesses and consumers with their bills going forwards.
Energy analysts Cornwall Insight have warned that following the removal of this support, bills could reach as high as £4,347 a year. How the Government plans to support bill payers after this time remains to be seen.
Were any of the benefits kept in place?
Thankfully, some of the mini-Budget announcements that were beneficial were kept in place by Mr Hunt. For example, the Stamp Duty Land Tax changes that came into effect on September 23 mean homebuyers will not pay any Stamp Duty on property purchases up to £250,000, and first-time buyers would not have to pay Stamp Duty on the first £425,000 of the property purchase.
Is the National Insurance rise still being scrapped on November 6?
The mini-Budget announcement to scrap the 1.25% rise in National Insurance from November 6 was another measure that escaped the chop by Mr Hunt, and the Health and Social Care Levy which was due to come into effect from April next year will not be implemented as Mr Hunt continued with the plan outlined by his predecessor.
Warning of pain ahead
However, both Mr Hunt and the new PM Rishi Sunak have been at pains to outline that there are likely to be difficult times ahead. Mr Hunt made this clear in his speech on October 17, when he also referenced Ms Truss’ “mistakes”.
The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement will now take place on November 17, delaying a planned medium-term fiscal statement on October 31 to offer a more comprehensive Autumn Budget. This will also include the Office for Budget Responsibilities’ forecast, a key ingredient that was missing in Mr Kwarteng’s mini-Budget which was part of the reason markets reacted so badly to the apparently unfunded announcements. We will keep you updated at the end of November with any further changes.
What does the market volatility mean for you?
The market volatility resulting from the ill-fated mini-Budget on September 23 has created real concern for investors. Most of the measures announced that day were reversed just weeks later, but the fallout has left markets in a state of turmoil.
The FTSE 100 was at 7,237.6 on September 21, two days before the mini-Budget. Soon after on September 29, it had dropped to 6,881.6 but it had recovered to more than 7,000 at the time of writing.
This level of volatility within such a short period of time is concerning for anyone, but there are things that can be done if you want to insulate yourself from the ups and downs of the markets.
Drip-feed investments
One of the best ways to even out the peaks and troughs of volatile markets is to invest any money you want to put into the markets over time. Making regular monthly contributions as opposed to a one-off investment allows you to make the most of the dips when the market falls.
Putting money in at different times allows you to spread the risk of your investment because you are not making a single investment when the market may be at its peak. Instead, you are buying no matter what the value of the market is, meaning you get more when it is in a dip, and slightly less for your investment when it is at a peak. When your investments rise in value, the units will rise accordingly, and the relative difference in price will be smoothed out.
Diversify your portfolio
It is also important to diversify your investments to cope with any downturn. Diversification can be done in a variety of ways – by sector such as energy, healthcare and so on; by geographical location as in the UK, US, and Asia; or by theme such as environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing. Or a combination of all of these.
Making sure your portfolio is balanced and diversified is not easy to do alone unless you are an expert, so you would be wise to get professional help to achieve this. It must also be done within your own risk profile, and in a way that meets your short-term and long-term investment goals.
You need to monitor your portfolio’s performance and balance over time. When different areas of your portfolio rise and fall, the balance of that portfolio can become skewed. It should be revisited at least once a year, and more often if there is a change in your circumstances or a major change in an area you are investing in. Remember, this applies to your pension funds too, not just your investment portfolio. You need to consider everything together.
Above all, don’t panic when the markets fall
The worst thing you can do if you see markets fall is panic. Any knee-jerk reactions you make to market falls are likely to result in bad decisions being made. Besides, the very worst thing you can do is sell assets when they have fallen in value. It is far better to stay invested and wait for the recovery to come. The key thing to remember is that while seeing your portfolio value fall on a screen, unless you crystallise that loss by selling, it is merely a paper loss. Bide your time and the markets should recover.
This is where a good accountant can help you. Whether you are investing for your business or personally, the same rule would apply. It can be worrying when you see markets falling, or your investments worth less than they were. But if you have concerns, contact your accountant. He or she will be able to advise you on the best course of action, which in many cases is to do nothing at all.
How to protect your business in a recession
The UK’s GDP fell by 0.3% in August according to official figures, and if GDP falls for two quarters in a row, that is the definition of a recession. Experts at the EY ITEM Club predict the UK will be in recession for three quarters, which would take us up to the middle of 2023, so businesses need to start thinking about how they can protect themselves before the downturn comes.
Your accountant is the best source of information for you in relation to your business specifically, but here we go through a number of things you can consider doing to protect your business in preparation for the expected recession.
Get your cashflow sorted and deal with any debt
Cashflow is the lifeblood of any business and when there is not enough money coming in on a regular basis, there is no chance of the business surviving in even the most beneficial conditions. But if a recession on the horizon, then focusing on cashflow is essential.
By keeping on top of invoices, chasing payments that are slow to be paid or even using invoice factoring if you need to – where you sell your invoice to a company that will pay you, say, 80-90% of the value of that invoice and they will then chase the debtor for the full payment themselves – you will make sure the business has enough money flowing to pay all necessary overheads.
Where possible, you should also look to reduce the amount of debt you have in the business. Paying interest on loans during a downturn is not a good idea if you can avoid it, as that is a cost that could be removed in advance if conditions are right. Also, if your business has reduced its debts, then when the recession ends and you come out of the other side, your business would be in a better position to access additional borrowing if you need it.
Insulate your business by cutting costs where you can
Preparing for a recession is never going to be easy, but one thing is for sure – your business needs to start looking at where costs can be cut before profits start being hit. This could mean, for example, reducing production costs, limiting overtime payments, or reducing the number of hours staff work. One of the biggest expenses for many businesses are employees and it may be necessary to reduce your overall headcount for the business to survive. This is never an easy decision, especially during a cost-of-living crisis when people are relying on their incomes more than ever. But it should be considered as a last resort, if necessary, especially if you know you have areas within your business that could be leaner.
Laying people off is never comfortable, and it may not be necessary for your business specifically. But if you do need to do this, make the move sooner rather than later. You must ensure you are working within all employment rules and giving people the requisite amount of notice and redundancy payments. If you are not sure how to do this, then speak to a human resources specialist and get advice to make sure you do not fall foul of any rules.
Let us help you
If you need to consider ways to prepare your business for an upcoming recession, please get in touch with us and we can go through the various options with you.
The Plastic Packaging Tax – what you need to know
The Plastic Packaging Tax came into effect in April this year, and if your business deals with any kind of plastic packaging in relation to your products, you may need to be registered for this.
Anyone importing or manufacturing more than 10 tonnes of plastic packaging each year to the UK will be subject to this tax. Those businesses below this threshold are exempt, but if you breach this threshold, there are a number of things you need to know. For example, if the plastic you manufacture or import has at least 30% of recycled plastic by weight, you will also be exempt from this tax. The tax is designed to encourage manufacturers both here and abroad to use more recycled plastic in their processes.
When do I need to notify HMRC?
If your business has imported or produced more than 10 tonnes of plastic since April 1 this year, you need to register within 30 days of breaching this limit. If you have already missed this deadline, then get in touch with your accountant or HMRC as soon as possible. Around 20,000 businesses are estimated to be affected by this, with an additional £400,000 as an annual cost burden on these businesses, mostly for the additional administrative requirements of this tax.
The fee charged is £200 per metric tonne used or manufactured, but what is considered ‘plastic’ is a moot point and there is more information in the HMRC guidance. There are other things to consider too, such as the plastics that qualify are those which are considered single use by the end consumer, or those used in the supply chain. For example, if plastic punnets of strawberries are imported, then the punnets themselves may be subject to this tax.
This is a complex area, so get some help
However, it is a very complex tax, and you will need specialist guidance to navigate it. You can find out more information on Gov.uk, or by speaking to your accountant who can help you.
If you need to register, you can do this online with some exceptions – or again, speak to your accountant and ask him or her to deal with this for you.
We can help you meet your obligations
If you think you need to register for the Plastic Packaging Tax, please get in touch with us and we can help you navigate this incredibly complex area.