Future Retirement Success
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks

Future Retirement Success

Business

The certainty of uncertainty: Business finds itself on the wobbly board following mini-budget

by October 4, 2022
October 4, 2022
The certainty of uncertainty: Business finds itself on the wobbly board following mini-budget

With businesses facing significant uncertainty following the latest tax changes and the adverse market response, this month I consider how businesses can and should respond to this situation.

Before I look at my tips for navigating these times, it’s worth reminding ourselves of the basic principle that for any tax system to operate effectively it must be:

In other words, tax should be paid in proportion to the amount of income earned.
Taxpayers must have certainty as to the amount of tax to be paid and when it must be paid.
Convenient (i.e. easy) to pay tax; and
Not too costly for a government to administer.

(The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith)

Generally these principles, in one form or another, have always underpinned the UK tax system.  The mini budget on 23 September 2022 has been widely judged to have failed to adhere to these principles.  The announcements overlooked the fact that citizens need to plan for the taxes they are required to pay. It ignored the fact that investors make their investing decisions based on certainty and a stable investing environment, where a degree of predictability is a good thing. And it certainly discounted completely the reaction of the markets to unfunded announcements.

However, overall, business came out of the mini-budget well.  Planned increases to national insurance and corporation tax were scrapped; the health and social levy was also scrapped; IR35 was reversed to the pre-2017 position; incentive zones were announced; investment incentives and option plans were expanded.  A raft of pro-business measures designed, say the government, to stimulate growth.  A growth agenda is a welcome strategy and, certainly, our business bodies have been calling for this for some time.  But some of the changes announced must bring frustration to business too, if only for the sheer amount of time and effort spent complying with the soon-to-be-repealed measures.  For example, IR35 for the private sector was delayed by a year to give medium and large businesses more time to prepare for the changes and significant work was undertaken to ensure compliance.

The cost of these new pro-business measures is yet to be disclosed, as is the detail of how they will be funded. This brings substantial uncertainty to the business environment as the cost of borrowing goes up and interest rates start to tick upwards.

There is no doubt that the current business landscape feels unsettled. So, how can business leaders navigate this time? The below are not necessarily answers but are some considerations to bear in mind as you navigate the period ahead:

Be prudent. If you can, consider whether you should keep more cash on hand than you would normally.
If you trade overseas, is now the time to be thinking about currency hedging if you don’t already do it?
Talk to your trade and industry bodies to get their advice and insight. Many will be lobbying Government to ensure a stable, sustainable trading environment, and arguing that the competitiveness of the British business environment depends on this message getting across.
Do pay attention to what the opposition political parties are saying they would do if the win the next general election. Usually, new governments make tax changes and hopefully the opposition will be learning the lessons from this week and headlining any tax changes well in advance of making them.
Look out for the OBR forecasts. We know that it will be made available to the Government on the 7th October, but only publicised on 23 November 2022.

It looks like we are in for a bumpy ride over coming months, and while we wait for a clearer picture to emerge, the best advice I can share with business leaders is to maintain some semblance of equilibrium. And hang on in there!

Read more:
The certainty of uncertainty: Business finds itself on the wobbly board following mini-budget

0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
Daily Recap 10/1 – 10/3: Peter Strzok Termination Letter Released…WOW!…and Gavin Newsom Declares California a “Sanctuary State” for Gender Surgery
next post
GRAPHIC: Failing Iran Regime Cracks Down on Students, Shoots Protestor in Head!

You may also like

Are museums and galleries vectors of Economic Growth?

November 21, 2024

Andrew Bailey: UK likely to avoid worst impact...

December 4, 2024

The Road to Recovery: New Poll Shows One...

June 2, 2023

Half of UK tech firms need greater support...

August 10, 2022

Microdosing Truffles

November 27, 2024

UK manufacturers urge MoD to channel defence spending...

June 2, 2025

Inflation Declines Slower Than Expected, Dampening Hopes of...

April 17, 2024

The Decline of Threads App: A Promising Start...

August 15, 2023

Marketing for Business Expansion: A Strategic Framework for...

January 18, 2023

New report highlights the importance of recognition in...

July 11, 2024

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free

    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • Disabling Trump’s “Tariff Button”

      June 5, 2025
    • ‘Sick puppy’ Tim Walz should never have been on Dems’ 2024 ticket, Trump says

      June 5, 2025
    • Federal judge orders Trump to restore funding to Clinton-era agency gutted by DOGE

      June 5, 2025
    • Musk says Trump would have lost 2024 election without him as ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ feud continues

      June 5, 2025
    • Ex-Biden adviser calls Jean-Pierre ‘kinda dumb,’ deletes tweet, says she’s not a ‘genius-level Black woman’

      June 5, 2025
    • ‘Coming for us’: Expert sounds alarm on CCP’s mission to ‘kill Americans’ after FBI makes shocking arrests

      June 5, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (8,148)
    • Investing (2,010)
    • Politics (15,535)
    • Stocks (3,128)
    • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: futureretirementsuccess.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 futureretirementsuccess.com | All Rights Reserved