Figures from the UK’s self-employed sector have largely issued lukewarm responses to Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Autumn Budget. The consensus broadly seemed to be that, despite some positive announcements, Wednesday’s Budget did not go far enough in its help for the self-employed workforce.
Crucially, some focused on the lack of mitigation the Budget offered against the impact of COVID-19, exclusions from government support that many experienced during the pandemic and upcoming increases in National Insurance Contributions and corporation tax.
In a statement, campaign group ExcludedUK said: “Despite all our calls to the Treasury to address the exclusions to the COVID support schemes, +3 million continue to face severe financial hardship for years to come and this budget fails to provide the much-needed hope for these individuals and businesses.”
The Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE), meanwhile, said that, in spite of Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s optimistic messaging, the Budget “does not chime with the reality for many self-employed people.”
Derek Cribb, CEO of the IPSE, welcomed investments in skills, infrastructure and innovation, as well as the fact there were no further tax rises, but added: “there is far too little in the Budget that would directly support the self-employed”. Cribb specifically criticised the Chancellor for not simplifying or reducing working taxes and said that funding for training and skills was not flexible enough to benefit the self-employed.
Cribb commented: “Overall, this Budget does nothing to reassure the UK’s 4.3 million self-employed businesses, who are reeling from a series of setbacks, from gaps in support to disastrous IR35 reforms.”
The lack of action over self-employed taxes was also criticised by Aiden Corcoran of GoSimpleTax, who said: “Business relief rates, rates discounts and income tax rates will all help the UK’s small and micro businesses, but support in the form of grants, extended furlough and tax breaks would all have been equally beneficial.”
“Importantly, self-employed people had told us they wanted to see a simplification to tax self-assessment – and nothing to this end was mentioned. This was a generous Budget for public services and large businesses – but for many self-employed people, it will not be enough.”
