Author: Glenn

With a £50bn shortfall looming, the Chancellor may need to revisit last year’s Corporation Tax roadmap commitments.

As this year’s Autumn Budget approaches, it is an interesting time to revisit the Corporation Tax Roadmap published alongside last year’s Budget on 30 October 2024.

The roadmap sets out the government’s plans for Corporation Tax and a small number of other business taxes over the course of the parliament.

These commitments included:

• Capping the headline rate of Corporation Tax at 25% for the duration of parliament, the lowest rate in the G7.
• Retaining the small profits rate and marginal relief at current rates and thresholds.
• Maintaining the capital allowances system, including permanent full expensing and the £1 million annual investment allowance.
• Maintaining the generosity of R&D reliefs.
• Collaborating with companies on simplification and improving user experience, including HMRC’s path forward on digitisation.
• Developing a new process for increasing the tax certainty available in advance for major investments.

Almost a year later, the Chancellor is facing a significant budget shortfall that could be as high as £50 billion, driven by multiple issues including weak growth, persistent inflation, high debt interest costs and widening deficits.

The government has also committed not to raise income tax, National Insurance or VAT for working people, and to restore frozen tax thresholds in line with inflation from 2028–29.

It remains to be seen whether any of the major commitments outlined in the roadmap and in previous promises to the voting public will be rolled back.

You can claim tax relief on pension contributions up to 100% of earnings, but exceeding the annual allowance may trigger charges. Tax relief is paid on pension contributions at the highest rate of income tax paid.

The first 20% of tax relief is usually automatically applied by your employer with no further action required if you are a basic-rate taxpayer. If you are a higher rate or additional rate taxpayer, you can claim back any further reliefs on your self-assessment tax return.

There is an annual allowance for tax relief on pensions of £60,000. There is also a three year carry forward rule that allows you to carry forward any unused amount of your annual allowance from the last three tax years if you have made pension savings in those years.

If your total pension contributions are excessive and you exceed the annual allowance, you may face a tax charge. Your pension provider should inform you if you exceed the limit within their scheme, but if you have multiple pensions, you will need to request statements from each provider to check your position. You or your pension provider must pay any tax due from exceeding the limit.

You must report the charge in the ‘Pension savings tax charges’ section of your self-assessment tax return or use form SA101 if filing by paper. This is required even if your pension provider paid all or part of the tax due. You can still claim tax relief on contributions. HMRC does not tax anyone for going over their annual allowance in a tax year if they retired and took all their pension pots because of serious ill health or they died.

From 6 April 2027, new measures first announced in the Autumn Budget 2024 will come into force. These changes will bring most unused pension funds and death benefits into the scope of Inheritance Tax (IHT) from April 2027. This represents a major change to the tax treatment of pensions on death and will significantly broaden the IHT net by capturing assets that were previously excluded from tax.

Individuals with significant pension savings should review their estate plans carefully. Beneficiaries inheriting unused pension funds or death benefits may now face an IHT charge, making forward planning essential. Under the revised rules, personal representatives will be responsible for reporting and paying any IHT due, rather than pension scheme administrators.

There are important exclusions to note. Death-in-service benefits paid from registered pension schemes and dependants’ scheme pensions from either defined benefit arrangements or collective money purchase schemes will not fall within the scope of IHT. These will continue to be treated as before.

These reforms follow a technical consultation which concluded in January 2025 and led to changes in how liability is assigned. The new approach has raised concerns about potential issues such as payment delays, added administrative burden, and data privacy risks. As a result, close cooperation between personal representatives and pension providers will become increasingly important to ensure compliance and efficient estate administration.

Many business owners see their bank overdraft as a flexible safety net. When cash runs short, the temptation is to ask the bank for a higher limit to keep things moving. While this can provide breathing space in the short term, relying on overdrafts to cover trading losses is one of the riskiest financial strategies a business can adopt.

The key problem is that an overdraft is designed for temporary cash flow fluctuations, not for funding ongoing losses. If sales are falling, margins are shrinking, or costs are out of control, borrowing more simply masks the underlying issues. Instead of addressing the root causes, the business is kicking the problem down the road.

Increased overdrafts also come at a cost. Interest rates on overdrafts are typically higher than other forms of borrowing, and banks may also charge arrangement fees. Over time, these costs eat further into already fragile cash reserves, worsening the loss cycle rather than solving it.

There is also the risk that the bank will eventually say no. If the overdraft has been repeatedly extended and the business still cannot show a plan for recovery, lenders may lose confidence. This can result in the overdraft being frozen or called in, leaving the company without working capital and at risk of insolvency.

A safer approach is to treat persistent overdraft use as a warning signal. It should prompt a review of pricing, overheads, and profitability, and may require fresh equity, restructuring, or a long-term loan if borrowing is genuinely part of the solution. Using overdrafts to fund losses may buy time, but without decisive action, it is rarely a path to recovery.

In every market, businesses face competition. Some competitors may be larger, others may have deeper pockets, but gaining a competitive advantage is not always about size or spending power. It is about finding ways to stand out, deliver value, and build loyalty in ways that others cannot easily copy.

The starting point is understanding what your customers really want. Many businesses assume they know, but without asking directly, they risk focusing on the wrong things. Regular feedback, surveys, and conversations with clients can reveal needs that are not currently being met. Meeting those needs better than your rivals can quickly become a strong differentiator.

Another route to advantage is efficiency. Streamlining operations, adopting smarter technology, or cutting wasted time and cost can enable a business to deliver faster or at a lower price without reducing quality. Even modest savings can provide extra flexibility when pricing against competitors.

Brand and reputation also play a vital role. Trust is hard to win and easy to lose. Businesses that consistently keep promises, communicate clearly, and support their customers when problems arise often enjoy loyalty that competitors cannot buy. A strong reputation can be worth more than any marketing campaign.

Finally, innovation should not be overlooked. This does not always mean launching new products. It can mean packaging existing services differently, offering subscription or fixed-fee pricing, or providing added advice alongside the core offering. Small changes that make the customer’s life easier can be the difference between being a supplier and being a trusted partner.

Competitive advantage is rarely achieved through one big step. It comes from a series of consistent, customer-focused improvements that, taken together, make the business the obvious choice in a crowded market.