Budget 2021 - the key points for pig producers

Chancellor Rishi Sunak today delivered a Budget which he hopes will steer the UK out of the pandemic and begin to balance the books after a year of unprecedented peacetime spending. 

Among the headlines, the Chancellor announced a new 'super-deduction' for companies investing in new plant or machinery assets.

From April 1, 2021 until March 21, 2023, companies investing in qualifying assets will benefit from a 130% first-year capital tax allowance. This upfront super-deduction will allow companies to cut their tax bill by up to 25p for every £1 they invest, a potentially big incentive.

Elsewhere in the Budget, many of the COVID-19 support schemes will remain in place over the summer to ensure a smoother transition back to normality, while tax rises, such as the hike in Corporation Tax, will not come into effect until 2023.

The other headline announcements likely to be of interest to NPA members include:

• An extension of the furlough and self-employed income support scheme to September 2021 across the UK.
• Extension of the apprenticeship hiring incentive in England to September 2021 and an increase of payment to £3,000.
• Small and medium-sized employers in the UK will continue to be able to reclaim up to two weeks of eligible Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) costs per employee from the Government.
• To further support the cashflow of businesses, the government is extending the loss carry back rules worth up to £760,000 per company.
• Maintaining the income tax Personal Allowance and higher rate threshold from April 2022 until April 2026.
• The rate of Corporation Tax will increase to 25% but will not take effect until 2023. Businesses with profits of £50,000 or less will continue to be taxed at 19% and a taper above £50,000 will be introduced so that only businesses with profits greater than £250,000 will be taxed at the full 25% rate.
• Fuel duty will be frozen for the 11^th consecutive year.
• Agriculture will be exempt from new red diesel restrictions.
• £4 million for a biomass feedstocks programme in the UK to identify ways to increase the production of green energy crops and forest products that can be used for energy.

At Budget 2020, the government announced that it will remove the entitlement to red diesel and rebated biofuels from April 2022, excepting use for agriculture (including horticulture, fish farming and forestry), rail vehicles and for non-commercial heating and this was confirmed today by the Chancellor.

This will potentially impact the cost of refrigerated meat transportation because red diesel will no longer be permitted to power fridge units on vehicles.

All the documents relating to the Budget can be read here.