This was very much about 'making work pay' and aiming to improve productivity. Important though national insurance tax reductions are to help sole traders and partnerships, they do nothing to help those caught by frozen thresholds or running small limited companies.

Sole traders and partners

With Class 2 national insurance abolished and Class 4 national insurance reduced by 1% from April 2024 but dividend tax unchanged, more businesses may decide to remain as sole traders rather than incorporate or even prefer to disincorporate.

When you add in that the cash basis will become the default way to measure tax profits from April 2024 (for any size sole trader) together with the previously known companies house reforms requiring more company information to be made public, the government clearly wants small businesses to stay as sole traders unless they're large enough to embrace being a limited company in full.

Here are some tax free treats you could take from your company, with the maximum tax free amounts for a two person shareholder-director company shown in brackets. 

• Salary (£25k pa)
• Trivial Benefits (£600 pa)
• Annual Parties (£600 pa)
• Cycle To Work Scheme (Credit License Limit: £2k)
• Private Health Checks (Annual - £No Limit)
• Eye Tests (Annual - £No Limit)
• Tax Free Dividends (£2k)
• Pensions (£120k pa – With IFA Advice)
• Relevant Life Policies (£Not Excessive)

Dear HMRC

Why we need to talk to you…..

As an unrepresented taxpayer with apparently very simple tax affairs, I find myself needing to call you. I really don’t want to. I have better things to do, but I like to know I’m not going to upset you.

There's been a lot said today, but does it amount to refilling what has been there before or something new? Was there anymore in it than for high earning, beer drinking, car driving, parents with potholes outside their home?