Business Update – October-November 2025
November 6, 2025
All attention is now focused on the government’s second Budget at the end of November, with the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, fuelling speculation that there may need to be more radical tax rises. Previous cast iron refusals to touch any of the main taxes – income tax, national insurance or VAT – appear to have weakened, with speculation that drastic measures may be needed to cover the sizeable deficit. While the rumour mill is in full operation until 26 November, there are several areas that could see significant change in the coming tax years.
One of these is inheritance tax (IHT). There has been much discussion around whether a wealth tax should be introduced on the highest earners. IHT already plays its part in raising increasing amounts of revenue and measures already announced in the last Budget, around cutting agricultural and other reliefs, will come in from next April. Changes to pensions death benefits are slated for a year later. In this edition of our newsletter, our feature explores how you can manage these changes and anticipates further potential revision of the rules.
Alongside the feature, other stories we explore in this edition include:
Business rate reform – An interim government report into how reform of business rates could support economic growth is expected to translate into measures for change in the Autumn Budget.
HMRC enhances scrutiny – In a bid to boost recovery of lost revenue, HMRC is employing artificial intelligence resources, as well as other forms of covert surveillance, to scrutinise social media accounts and businesses for lifestyle and other discrepancies from declared income.
Further sacrifices for employee benefits – The use of salary sacrifice arrangements has already been curtailed by changes brought in eight years ago, but the coming Budget could see further erosion of tax reliefs on employee benefits.
We also cover the return of the voluntary VAT registration, the Covid support repayment scheme, January tax bill planning, electric car charging rates and more.
Our next newsletter will be out in January when we will be in touch in the new year with year end tax planning measures from the Budget. Meanwhile please do contact us if we can continue to help or provide you with more information on any of the topics covered here.