The next tax year will see the fourth consecutive freeze at 49.9p and the standard multiplier will be uprated by September to 54.6p. The small rate multiplier will be increased to match CPI inflation.

For the next five years the government has announced a package worth £4.3bn to aid small businesses by extending the freeze on the multiplier and extending the 75% Retail Hospitality and Leisure relief.

Cash flow implications regarding late payments are set to be ridiculed as firms bidding for large government contracts of £5m will have to prove payments of invoices within an average of 55 days, reducing to 45 days in April 2025 and to 30 in future years.

Danielle Ayres, employment partner at Primas Law said: ‘While the Government also announced a number of positive moves for small businesses today as part of its “Autumn Statement for growth”, including freezing the small business multiplier and making full expensing permanent, it is hard to see whether these will have enough clout to support businesses in the short term.

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