Businesses won’t be motivated to invest in Britain if there are constant tax changes

Andrew Watson was very pleased with the timing of last week’s budget. Goodfellow Cambridge’s finance chief is looking for new software to aid the supplier of specialist metals and its 130 employees in managing processes like accounting and supply chains.

Goodfellow Cambridge will spend more than £1million on the project. Jeremy Hunt’s announcement about new capital allowances will allow him to make a significant tax savings when he invests.

The government hopes that the tax cut will encourage companies to invest in IT systems, machinery, and other equipment to increase their business investment. Hunt’s full expensing of capital allowances giveaway was his attempt to counter a rise in corporation taxes from 19% to 25%. This move had caused a backlash among businesses as well as within the Conservative Party.

Experts in tax have stated that full expensing will allow companies to deduct all costs of investments from pre-tax profits. This would return £25 per 100 spent.

Watson is doing exactly the same thing he planned. He will continue with his IT project as usual, and will not bring forward any additional investments.

He stated that the capital allowance changes would be beneficial to that project but that it wouldn’t affect our decision-making about that project. These changes won’t affect our investment plans, so I don’t believe we will.

Similar stories are being told elsewhere. Tony Hague, the West Midlands-based PP Control & Automation owner, is looking to buy a machine for his cable manufacturing business. Hunt’s plans are not enough to get him to add more items in his shopping cart, thanks to the new capital allowances that will be in effect next month.

Hague, who has approximately 230 employees, said that most businesses have a long-term strategy as well as a longer-term planning. “I don’t believe you can overturn these plans based on what the government’s done.”

While the increase in corporation tax is expected bring in PS18billion a year, the cost of capital allowances is estimated to be PS9billion. Will businesses fare better or worse overall?

The previous super-deduction plan, which was implemented in 2021, was replaced by the full expensing capital allowance. Super-deduction offered companies a better option, as they could claim 130 percent tax relief for two year. Businesses will be able to claim 100 percent capital allowances, which will last three years. Hunt however indicated that they could continue for longer.

Jeremy Hunt believes that new capital allowances will encourage investment in IT and equipment.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which launched the super-deduction in 2021, predicted that it would increase business investment by 10%. However, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) stated last week that it had likely had a smaller impact than they thought.

The OBR stated that “we now believe the super-deduction increased investment in business by about 5% and that we underestimated its dynamic benefits.” The OBR estimates that the new, more generous scheme will increase investment by 3 percent.

Machines can be claimed back by companies if they are purchased from machines such as printers and computers, office equipment like desks and chairs, vans, lorries, and tractors. This scheme covers warehouse equipment, such as forklift trucks and tools, including ladders, diggers, bulldozers, and other tools.

Research and development tax credits at the industrial end of this spectrum have been reduced. However, innovative companies in areas such as biotech and artificial intelligence will still be eligible for this relief. There are however large numbers of businesses that do not qualify for either relief, and will not see any obvious benefits from the budget.

“If you are a company in service, in hospitality, or in entertainment, then what you’re actually investing in is people, training, quite often,” stated Tim Sarson, UK head for tax policy at KPMG. “There is nothing there except free childcare. . . This is the only downside for you.

A top executive at a media giant stated that capital allowances made no difference to him. He said, “We are not building factories.” It’s a lot more interesting if you’re BT and you’re building a factory. In 2022, BT, which has been spending billions of dollars laying fibre cables underground, did not pay any UK corporation tax.

Capital allowances would be most beneficial to heavy machinery users like the construction industry. However, even the construction sector cannot cash in fully on these allowances. Suzannah Nichol is the chief executive officer of Trade Body Build UK. She stated that instead of buying diggers, the sector leases around three-quarters its equipment. It is therefore not eligible for capital allowances. This means that it takes longer to recover the money.

Nichol stated that there is a tick to launch a new scheme. However, if it doesn’t apply to 75% of our plant, it doesn’t help construction.

There are concerns about capital allowances creating false demand for products, given the fragile state of not only the British economy but also the global economy. For example, a manufacturer could be encouraged to purchase more machines in order to produce more products. However, if there isn’t enough demand for the product, these purchases may be wasted.

“If it is used correctly, it can be great,” stated PP’s Hague. It could however drive bad behavior. Complex decisions could be made by companies based on the assumption that there is no downside to making these complex decisions.

Even those who receive the allowances are skeptical of the government’s ability to keep its word. Many entrepreneurs have doubted the ability of chancellors to change their plans over the years. The polls show that Labour will be in power from next year. If they are elected to Downing Street, Sir Keir Starmer, Labour leader and shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves may rip Hunt’s plans apart and start over.

The uncertainty is compounded if Rachel Reeves or Sir Keir Sternmer reach Downing Street.

Helen Miller, Head of Tax at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, stated that “the constant changes we’ve made to corporation tax since 2010 have been very problematic.”

We’ve seen changes not only in the rate, to one or two allowances but also to many allowances and many other features. Nearly every year, a new corporation tax system is in place. This means that firms aren’t certain what will happen in the next two to three years.

Firms are not asking themselves, “What do they need to do today?” Instead, they ask, “What will I need in the future?” Without this certainty, your system can be damaged. You get less value for every dollar if you change your investment regime all the time.

Adrian Hanrahan is prevented from going to hell for leather at Robinson Brothers, a West Bromwich-based chemical producer Robinson Brothers that has been in business since 154 years. Robinson Brothers employs approximately 220 people.

Hanrahan stated: “The budget uncertainty, as well as the short-termism, is not conducive for me to invest a lot, because I don’t really know what’s coming.”