27 September 2022
Latest NHBF update – 27 September 2022
This week's update covers:
- As energy and business costs rise – Final chance to have your say in the latest survey
- Chancellor announces new Growth Plan
- New crack down on fraud and money-laundering
As energy and business costs rise – Final chance to have your say in the latest survey
With energy and business costs escalating, we are keen to get the latest information from you about how business is going.
The survey includes key questions about energy prices, following the government’s announcement of the Energy Bill Relief Scheme.
Your feedback is crucial in helping us make a case for hair & beauty as a 'vulnerable' industry needing extra help after the six months of government support has ended.
Access the survey here.
The deadline for responses is Friday 30 September at 5pm.
The survey should take less than 10 minutes, and your responses are strictly confidential.
Chancellor announces new Growth Plan
The Chancellor unveiled his Growth Plan (Friday 23 September) to tackle high energy costs and inflation and deliver higher productivity and wages.
The most important points for hair and beauty business owners are:
- April 2022’s National Insurance rise and April 2023’s Health and Social Care Levy will be cancelled.
- Corporation tax rise cancelled, keeping it at 19%.
- Basic rate of income tax cut to 19% in April 2023 – one year earlier than planned – with 31 million people getting on average £170 more per year.
Responding to the announcements, Richard Lambert, NHBF Chief Executive, said:
‘The Chancellor’s bold statement represents a small break in the perfect storm. The cancellation of the NICs (National Insurance Contributions) rise and cut to Corporation Tax will be welcomed by many hair and beauty businesses. However, even after these cuts and the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, salons and barbershops will still face a turbulent winter of increased costs. We urge the Government to consider adding 100% business rates relief as part of its ‘ambitious package’ of reforms later in the autumn’.
Full details of all the measures in the Chancellor’s announcement are in the press release.
New crack down on fraud and money-laundering
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill has been introduced to give Companies House greater powers to tackle the use of businesses as a front for crime.
Anyone who registers a company in the UK will need to verify their identity, and Companies House will be given new powers to check, challenge and decline incorrect or fraudulent information. It will also be able to cross check data with public and private partners, and report suspicious activity to security agencies and law enforcement.
Under the provisions of the Bill, law enforcement agencies will also be granted stronger powers to more easily and quickly seize, freeze and ultimately recover crypto-assets which are increasingly used for illicit activity and ransomware attacks.
The government has published a series of factsheets that explain the various provisions in the Bill.