Tax Matters: Autumn Budget 2025 – a stealthy smorgasbord?

The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, has delivered the Autumn Budget 2025. In her much-anticipated second Budget, the Chancellor announced a broad spectrum of tax measures which she said were designed both to secure public finances and make the UK tax system fairer. After much press speculation, rumours and reported U-turns, there is now some welcome clarity on how the government intends to balance the books, with the largest revenue raising measure being a stealth tax increase through the freezing of income tax thresholds. Outside of the headline grabbing measures, the government has published details on new and ongoing business tax reform measures, a number of which will be included in the upcoming Finance Bill. In our latest podcast, Josh Critchlow speaks to May Smith, Emily Szasz and Sam Withnall from our London tax team about the smorgasbord of business tax measures they found most noteworthy in the Autumn Budget 2025, including: headline tax revenue raising measures including extending the freeze on income tax/NICs thresholds and raising income tax rates on dividend, savings and property income; the introduction of a new ‘UK listing relief’ from SDRT, providing a 3 year exemption from the 0.5% SDRT charge on agreements to transfer securities of newly listed companies on a UK regulated market; confirmation that an ‘Advance Tax Certainty Service’ for major investment projects in the UK will be launched in July 2026; changes to the capital allowances regime, including a new 40% first-year allowance and reduction of writing down allowances for main rate expenditure; broadening an anti-avoidance rule applicable to capital gains rollover relief on share exchanges and reorganisations; an update on proposals to reform behavioural tax penalties; revisions to the UK VAT grouping rules applicable to overseas establishments; confirmation that a permanent revenue-based oil and gas price mechanism will take effect on expiry of the existing Energy Profits Levy; additional measures to tackle tax avoidance; and measures not included in the Budget announcements, including the rumoured ‘partnership NICs’ and exit tax.