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Autumn Statement 2022 Summary
Taxation and wages
- UK minimum wage for people over 23 to increase from £9.50 to £10.42 an hour
- Top 45% additional rate of income tax will be paid on earnings over £125,140, instead of £150,000
- Income tax personal allowance and higher rate thresholds frozen for further two years, until April 2028
- Main National Insurance and inheritance tax thresholds also frozen for further two years, until April 2028
- Tax-free allowances for dividend reduced to £1,000 next year and £500 from April 2024. Capital gains tax reduced to £6,000 next year and £3,000 from April 2024
Energy
- Household energy price cap extended for one year beyond April but made less generous, with typical bills capped at £3,000 a year instead of £2,500
- Households on means-tested benefits will get £900 support payments next year
- £300 payments to pensioner households, and £150 for individuals on disability benefit
- Windfall tax on profits of oil and gas firms increased from 25% to 35% and extended until March 2028
- New “temporary” 45% tax on companies that generate electricity, to apply from January
The economy and public finances
- The Office for Budget Responsibility judges UK to be in recession, meaning the economy has slowed for two quarters in a row
- It predicts growth for this year overall of 4.2%, but size of the economy will shrink by 1.4% in 2023
- Growth of 1.3%, 2.6%, and 2.7% in 2024, 2025 and 2026
- UK’s inflation rate predicted to be 9.1% this year and 7.4% next year
- Unemployment expected to rise from 3.6% to 4.9% in 2024
- Government will give itself five years to hit debt and spending targets, instead of three years currently
Government spending
- Defence spending to be maintained at 2% of national income – a Nato target
- Overseas aid spending kept at 0.5% for the next five years, below the official 0.7% target
