The Autumn 2020 Budget had been dubbed the “coronavirus budget” and the word on the street is the Autumn 2021 budget is getting its own nickname, “the boring budget”. However, as we suggested in our Spring 2021 Budget Update it has managed to bring a little bit more to the table than its predecessor.
Where the Spring budget had failed to comment at all on company car tax and only provided minimal changes across the industry as a whole, the Autumn 2021 Budget does at least confirm that company car tax rates are to remain the same until 2025, enabling modelling for a full fleet cycle.
For a vast amount of operational fleets running petrol and diesel vehicles, the freeze on fuel duty is good news and for those fleets who have already made the switch or are currently switching to EV the news of further investment of £2.8bn in the EV sector, including £620 million in key infrastructure areas like public charging units, is very positive.
Additionally, ever since the introduction of OpRA rules in 2017 there is always a keen eye on any changes which may impact employee benefit focussed car schemes, and on that front, no news is good news, anyone looking to implement a Salary Sacrifice scheme, or order their new car on an existing scheme can continue as planned. So, there are a couple of wins and some comfort in the lack of overhaul.
That being said, it has not been successful in giving any longer-term certainty, which is frequently the case, nor has it made mention of future BIK changes or road pricing and once again, many are left waiting in hope that the next Budget allows for some longer-term planning, particularly in terms of being able to make fleet changes that support decarbonisation of fleet as we navigate the Road to Zero.
As always, the Budget announcement will influence how you can increase fleet efficiencies. So, if you would like to chat with a member of our team about how we can help you with your latest objectives, please email contactvls@jct600.co.uk or 0113 3911791 and we will be very happy to help.