Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced that the Spring Budget will be delivered on 15 March 2023.

Mr Hunt stated that he has commissioned the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to prepare an economic forecast to accompany the Budget.

The Spring Budget will be the Chancellor’s second fiscal event, following November’s Autumn Statement. Mr Hunt used the Statement to reverse many of the tax cuts announced by his predecessor, Kwasi Kwarteng.

Internet links: UK Parliament website

The Bank of England (BoE) has raised UK interest rates by half a percentage point to 3.5%.

It is the ninth consecutive increase and takes the base rate to its highest level for 14 years as the Bank battles to stem soaring prices.

The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 6-3 in favour of putting rates up by 0.5%. The BoE also warned that further increases may be necessary to tackle what it fears may be persistent domestic inflationary pressures from prices and wages.

Commenting on the rise, Alpesh Paleja, Lead Economist at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said:

‘Another big interest rate rise from the BoE doesn’t come as a surprise in the face of historically high inflation.

‘However, with global price pressures starting to wane along with the economy set to fall into recession, it is likely that we’ll see smaller interest rate rises for the foreseeable future. Nonetheless, high inflation and weakening activity will continue into 2023, putting strain on many households and businesses.’

Internet link: Bank of England website

The UK’s Digital Services Tax (DST) raised £358 million from large digital businesses in the 2020/21 tax year, according to data published by the National Audit Office (NAO).

The DST was introduced in April 2020 to combat the government’s fears that the international tax system ‘did not recognise the value being generated for digital companies through UK online users’. The tax targets firms that make large revenues from UK users of social media platforms, online search engines and online marketplaces.

The NAO found that HMRC collected 30% more DST in its first year than originally predicted. It said that most firms that are liable for the tax now pay more in DST than corporation tax.

Gareth Davies, Head of the NAO, commented:

‘The DST has succeeded in raising more tax from some big digital companies and has brought in more money than forecast in its first year. However, HMRC could still face challenges enforcing compliance, especially among groups without a physical presence in the UK.

‘It should ensure that big digital companies operating beyond the UK’s borders are aware of the tax and comply with it.’

Internet link: NAO website

A significant number of UK businesses that trade internationally expect to see an increase in their exports over the coming year, according to an Institute of Directors (IoD) survey.

The survey showed that 42% of UK international traders expect export growth over the next 12 months. It also revealed that 47% of businesses are still finding Brexit challenging, and just 33% envisage opportunities materialising as a result of Brexit.

Additionally, 28% of firms reported that supply chain disruption has had a negative impact on their business, and 12% have an exportable product but are not currently exporting.

Emma Rowland, Policy Adviser for Trade at the IoD, said:

‘There is no doubt that smaller businesses in particular are finding the current international trading environment challenging. Importers and exporters feel especially constricted by the UK’s new trading relationship with the EU.

‘It is therefore encouraging that, in spite of these barriers, businesses are anticipating an increase in exports over the coming months. There are opportunities that give traders reason to be optimistic.’

Internet link: IoD website

Workers have saved more than £114 billion into their pension pots since pensions automatic enrolment was implemented ten years ago, according to data published by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

The data showed that more than 10.7 million employees were paying into a workplace pension in 2021. The proportion of young people saving into a pension has more than doubled since the introduction of pensions auto-enrolment in 2012, according to the statistics.

The government says it intends to continue work to further boost the amount of people in a workplace pension. It says it will explore how auto-enrolment can ‘go even further to help more people save more, sooner‘ by abolishing the Lower Earnings Limit for pension contributions and reducing the eligible age to 18.

Laura Trott, Minister for Pensions, said:

‘Automatic enrolment has completely transformed how people save – with staggering results. In the ten years since its introduction, 10.7 million people have started saving for their pensions with this easy-to-use scheme. We have also seen a huge and much needed increase in women and young people being enrolled into a pension.’

Internet link: GOV.UK