27
October
2021
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has revealed his Budget and we've summarised some of the areas that could affect golf clubs and golf club managers... MINIMUM WAGE The National Living Wage will increase next year to £9.50 per hour. That's a rise of 6.6% and, for a full-time worker, will mean a pay increase of more than £1,000. The Chancellor said the increase would help more than two million of the lowest paid workers in the country. BOOK NOW FOR GCMA 2021 CONFERENCE BUSINESS RATES Business Rates are remaining the same but Sunak said the Government would make the system fairer with more frequent re-evaluations every three years - starting in 2023. From that date, he said every business would be able to make property improvements and, for 12 months, would pay no extra business rates. "That means a hotel adding extra rooms; A manufacturer expanding their factory; An office adding new air conditioning, CCTV or bike shelters; Will all pay no extra rates," he confirmed. A planned increase in the multiplier has been cancelled - a tax cut Sunak said was worth £4.6 billion over the next five years - and a new 50% Business Rate discount for those in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors was announced. Sunak said: "Any eligible businesses can claim a discount on their bills of 50%, up to a maximum of £110,000. That is a business tax cut worth almost £1.7bn. Together with Small Business Rates Relief, this means that over 90% of all retail, hospitality and leisure businesses will see a discount of at least 50%." New investment relief will also be introduced to encourage businesses to adopt green technologies - such as solar panels. Overall, Sunak said: "Apart from the Covid reliefs, this is the biggest single-year tax cut to business rates in 30 years." ALCOHOL DUTIES Sunak announced a permanent cut in the cost of a pint of 3p as he unveiled what he called "the most radical simplification of alcohol duties for over 140 years". Main duty rates will be cut from 15 to six, while higher strength drinks will attract higher duties - such as stronger red wines, high strength 'white ciders' - while lower strength drinks - including fruit ciders - will attract lower duties. A new Draught Relief will also cut the duty on draught beer and cider by 5%. "This is the biggest cut to cider duty since 1923." BOOK NOW FOR GCMA 2021 CONFERENCE FUEL DUTY The planned rise in fuel duty was cancelled, which the Chancellor said represented a saving over the next five years of nearly £8bn. THE WIDER ECONOMY Inflation in September was 3.1% and Sunak said that was likely to rise further - with the Office for Budget Responsibility expecting Consumer Price Inflation to average over 4% in 2022. The Chancellor said this was down to demand increasing more quickly than supply chains could meet and the surge in the global demand for energy. "The pressures caused by supply chains and energy... Please LOGIN to read the full article.
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