Autumn Statement Nov 22 - Reaction from small businesses, charities and financial services experts

The Autumn Statement was great news for pensioners with the triple lock staying in place. However, it's more bad news for higher income earners with the 45% tax band now affecting anybody earning more than £125K. And remember their marginal rate of tax from £100K to £125K is already at 60%. It’s also bad news for small investors with dividend and capital allowances being slashed, making the case to invest in ISAs even stronger. We could also see BTL property investors look to accelerate selling any properties before their annual capital allowance is slashed 50% by April 2023 then by another 50% by April 2024. The biggest sigh of relief, however, will be with the very wealthiest in our nation. No muted ‘wealth tax’ was announced and although those earning £150K will be worse off by £1,250 a year due to the new 45% tax band, those earning £1m will also only be worse off by the same £1,250. How does that make sense?

This statement has left me slightly ambivalent. I'm both disappointed not to see measures to support the housing market and landlords specifically but also relieved that this was a competent delivery and that this chancellor actually managed to find his calculator.

The key to the financial and property markets is confidence. I feel that this Autumn statement will provide some confidence given the additional tax for the highest earners and the windfall tax to the energy companies. However, inflation is still the biggest concern in the economy and given the increase in inflation has been driven significantly by increased energy and food costs I can't see anything in the budget that will change that.

The Government has undoubtedly had some tough decisions to make to steady the economy and while these measures are undoubtedly needed to help curb inflation, we need to learn from previous rounds of austerity; these measures alone don’t create conditions for business growth. For these steps to be effective, they must be accompanied by measures to support and stimulate both business and consumer spending. The health of businesses, and the economy, depend on it. Businesses will begrudgingly have to play their part in accepting some of the impacts felt to help with the government’s efforts to stabilise the economy. But, in doing so it’s vital that they start to see growth and the government's measures need to materialise this quickly.

The cuts to the capital gains allowance threshold could be the final nail in the coffin for small buy-to-let owners. They're already facing rising rates and the reality is that they can't borrow enough on a remortgage to switch lenders. This could lead to a huge sell-off from landlords that could lead to house prices dropping at a faster rate than they already are.

The Chancellor has announced tax hikes and spending cuts while confirming the UK economy is already in recession. This is an unlikely environment for interest rates to carry on rising so next year should see rate hikes slow down, and possibly even reverse.

Make no mistake, people will have less disposable income as a result of the measures announced today. The big freeze in income tax thresholds will put phenomenal pressure on households as many more are dragged into paying higher taxes. The economic forecast is for stormy weather and there was little shelter provided by the Government in the Autumn Statement.

Jeremy Hunt, aka the Stealth tax bomber. The Chancellor, with an election in mind, but a government bank account in tatters, on Thursday froze tax thresholds, the most sneaky way of taxing individuals on their income, more and more each year until 2026 - without explicitly explaining that's what they are doing. The question remains, what now is the government's incentive to actually reduce inflation, when they are betting the house on it continuing to drive more tax revenue, and reduce the real terms value of their considerable debts.

Overall I was surprisingly impressed. Hunt's protection of the most vulnerable with increases to the energy windfall tax (what took them so long?), National Living Wage, state pensions and benefits are sensible and to be welcomed. Freezing personal tax allowances for an extra two years, and cutting the £2000 dividend allowance to £500, less so. And next April, households will face a further £500 increase in the Energy Price Guarantee, making bills about 2.5 times higher than they were in January. Let's hope Putin gets his comeuppance soon and prices fall.

The much-anticipated Autumn Statement was largely unsurprising, in contrast to the mini-Budget. The government hopes that tightening fiscal policy will reduce the need for further contractionary monetary policy. Whilst this may come as welcome news to property investors, they will likely face alternative challenges in a three-pronged attack of rising corporation tax, dividend tax and capital gains tax. It is not just in the property sector that people will feel a squeeze, such increases will negatively affect thousands of business owners across the country.vAs reported by HMRC, the freeze on the tax-free threshold will mean 5.5 million people will now face the 40% tax bracket, an increase of 44% compared to 2019. With high levels of inflation disproportionately affecting lower income households, this comes as no surprise. On a positive note, the newly announced fiscal changes will increase government revenue by several billion. Hunt has announced increased spending on healthcare and education, two sectors that have been historically underfunded.

"We were promised tax fireworks, but in reality it was more like a child holding a sparkler. Mildly interesting at the start before eventually fingers get burnt. Hunt managed to push a lot of the larger changes into the future, with I'm sure one eye on potentially promising to cut them before the next election. This is our modern-day politics."