It is, says the government, a budget to support working households and UK businesses. Critics will argue that it represents a £26bn rise in taxes and more election promises broken.

As much of the budget had been leaked in advance, industry commentators did at least have time to prepare their comments in response.

Comments published here are ordered by alphabetical order of the firm responding to the budget.

Paul Noble, CEO, Chetwood Bank

Uncertainty is never good for banking, and the endless speculation about today’s Budget has already tested confidence across the sector. Households and businesses alike have struggled to best prepare for these measures blindfolded, but now that we know, the task is to steady the ship, rebuild momentum, and focus on making the most of the months ahead.
The decision not to increase levies or add new regulatory burdens on banks was welcome, given the strong contribution our sector already makes through the taxes we pay. We have a critical role to play in supporting growth for businesses and ensuring stability for households, and today’s budget will not hold us back from that goal.
A healthy and competitive banking market delivers better outcomes for customers, so we must hope that the measures announced today allow newer players to grow and innovate to keep the banking space diverse and competitive.

Ingrid McCleave, partner and tax specialist at city law firm DMH Stallard

The Chancellor has added 2% tax to dividend and savings income, making it 2% higher than equivalent income tax on employment income. 

However, it must be borne in mind that you don’t pay national insurance on dividend or savings income, whereas you do on employment income.

There are already a number of tax reliefs available on dividend and savings income, some which only benefit lower earners. Interest and dividend income within a tax wrapper such as an ISA is tax free. This benefits high and low earners alike.

If your total income not including dividend and interest income is less than £17,570 pa (excluding ISAs), you are allowed to receive the first £5,000 of interest income tax free. This benefits lower earners.

Joe Lewis, Partner and Head of Corporate, Commercial and Employment Teams, Gardner Leader

With the Chancellor’s limited scope to raise prevailing tax rates, we may see increased levels of scrutiny and enforcement being employed by HMRC as a revenue tool. It would be prudent to expect more enquiries into reorganisations, share buy-backs, goodwill valuation and business-property relief optimisation, meaning a greater focus on robust valuation methodology and tax clearances for transactional areas historically treated pragmatically. 

Headline corporation tax may have stayed put, but frozen income tax thresholds, tighter deductions and the effects of inflation will lift effective rates for owner-managed businesses. Increases in dividend taxation will further affect how owners extract value. Combined with sharper HMRC scrutiny, the environment is set to become more demanding for smaller corporate groups. 

Sarah Coles, head of personal finance, Hargreaves Lansdown

The Lifetime ISA has provided an essential boost for hard-pressed young buyers, desperate to get into the property ladder. It has also proved a valuable way for people to save for retirement, especially self-employed people, who fall seriously short when it comes to pension contributions.

The right consultation on its replacement is vital, and needs to ensure that dedicated savers and investors, who have been putting money away for their first property or for retirement aren’t disadvantaged by any change.

Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis, Hargreaves Lansdown

Today’s announcement on the Lifetime ISA will be worrying for those who rely on it for their retirement savings. The LISA has the ability to have a huge impact on the retirement prospects for groups such as the self-employed. This is a group that is not included in auto-enrolment and so miss out on an employer contributions. They may also find pensions lack the flexibility that they need given as money cannot be accessed until at least the age of 55.

The bonus on the Lifetime ISA has the same effect as basic rate tax relief on a pension and any income can be taken tax free after the age 60. Added to this, money can be accessed early in case of emergency, albeit subject to an exit charge.

It’s a product has the potential on the long-term resilience of this group. The consultation into a replacement must consider the needs of self-employed people saving for retirement. They are already under-saving, so it’s important not to put any more barriers in the way.

Emma Wall, Chief Investment Strategist, Hargreaves Lansdown

VCT tax blow hidden in small print

The Chancellor has delivered a blow to investor and early-stage businesses alike by slashing the tax relief available on venture capital trusts. The Budget speech led with the positive news that both annual and lifetime limits would be reviewed to support scale up and not just start-up companies. This will be warmly welcomed by the industry which has called for limits to be re-examined to support broader growth opportunities.

But hidden in the small print of the Budget document was the detail that in order to ‘balance’ this change, the tax relief on VCTs would be cut from 30% to 20% following the 2025/26 financial bill – so investors have until the end of the tax year before the changes come into force. 

We are encouraged by the measures announced in the Budget to support a retail investment culture, including the stamp duty tax break for IPOs, and the British investment hub.

However, the tax relief on VCTs has provided many investors with the incentive to support early-stage UK businesses, which in turn support the domestic economy – just the sort of growth this Government is championing. This tax change seems counter to that agenda.

Ian Stuart, CEO, HSBC UK

HSBC UK is proud to support over 15 million customers and welcomes the Government’s efforts to drive growth across the country. We are therefore pleased to make available over £11bn of measures to back businesses and households.
We are supporting UK SMEs by making an additional £5bn of lending available over the next five years. This will underpin the growth ambitions of thousands of small businesses across the country, helping deliver on the objectives in the Government’s Small Business Plan.
We will increase cashback to first-time buyers from £700 to £2000 to help with the cost of buying a home. This is expected to mean an additional £1bn of lending and builds on our programme to increase borrowing limits for first-time buyers, allowing 24,000 more customers to get onto the housing ladder.

We will invest over £100m in our network – including ATMs – over the next three years and maintain our existing bank branch network in 2026. We will also create 1,000 highly skilled jobs over the next five years, offering mortgage and investment support to first-time buyers, homeowners and retail investors.

We will make available an additional £1bn of financing to the social housing sector in 2026 and a further £4bn by 2030. This will support the construction, renovation and management of tens of thousands of new social homes across the country.

By making available over £11bn of financing support, we can go further in driving SME expansion, helping first-time buyers onto the property ladder and supporting the customers and communities we are proud to serve.

Saif Derzi, founder of Property Buyers Today

This tax rise could put more pressure on an already strained rental market as landlords might now look to sell their properties to avoid paying higher tax bills. I recommend that property owners review their investments and recalculate their returns to ensure that they are clear on what this tax rise will mean for them.

While the Chancellor is expecting to raise £2.1bn overall through personal tax rises, this property tax increase could put rent affordability under further pressure as well. Landlords may attempt to offset the increased tax burden by charging higher rents. Furthermore, if some landlords decide to sell up, the rental market becomes strained, which again may lead to higher prices for renters, as well as more competition in securing tenancies.

A balanced approach that recognises the importance of private landlords in providing housing and protects renters from high rent costs is needed, as both are essential to the stability of the property market.

However, now that the various personal tax rises have been confirmed, this certainty allows landlords to reassess their margins and plan for the future after much speculation and uncertainty. Renters should also keep an eye on any potential increase in rent costs in line with this tax increase.

Adam Koprucki, founder of investing review site RealWorldInvestor.com

What are the changes to SDRT?

Investors were previously expected to pay a 0.5% tax when electronically purchasing shares in UK companies. The tax was applied immediately, before seeing how the investment performed.

However, the government has recently announced a three-year exemption when purchasing shares in newly listed companies on the London Stock Exchange.  

What does this change mean? 

According to LSEG, UK ownership of domestic equities fell from 96% in 1981 to 42% in 2022. UK equities have also lost over £1.9tn to global markets since 2000.  As such, the stamp duty holiday is likely to encourage investment in UK Initial Public Offerings (IPOs).   The tax exemption will also encourage companies to list on the London Stock Exchange, helping the UK to compete New York and Frankfurt.  

Encouraging long-term investments

While the tax exemption helps in the short-term, the UK government must continue to think of ways to encourage long-term investments.  

For example, this could include reducing ongoing costs for listed companies, such as compliance fees, and providing long-term tax incentives to help companies attract and retain investors.  

Cara Haffey, Leader of Industry for Industrials and Services, PwC

The reversal of last year’s ‘giveaway’ that there would be no extension to frozen income tax thresholds beyond 2028 means a further five years of fiscal drag which will continue to hit the public in the pocket. This, compounded by the increase in Employers’ National Insurance Contributions last year, means that nearly a quarter of taxpayers will be paying the higher rate by 2030.

Jake Finney, Senior Economist, PwC

This Budget has not been short of surprises. The biggest was that the downgrade to the economic forecasts was far smaller than anticipated. The Chancellor could have chosen to sit tight, but instead has delivered a substantial package of tax rises to fund some extra spending and to bolster the fiscal headroom. Crucially, a larger cushion against her fiscal rules will reduce the likelihood of further fiscal tinkering in the next Budget. Think tax and save, rather than tax and spend.

Brandon Till, Head of Business Solutions, Soldo

As many speculated, the Autumn Budget has highlighted tough economic conditions and delivered fresh challenges for UK businesses to face. Many businesses, particularly SMBs, will be impacted by the rise in national minimum wage, cap on NI exemption for the pension salary sacrifice and the slash on WDAs (writing down allowances). In response, some companies may panic pivot to blunt cost-cutting measures like hiring freezes or redundancies, but that approach risks damaging long-term growth.

Our recent research found that 88% of UK finance leaders believe restricting employees’ access to budgets actually stifles business growth. Because when smart spending is hindered or put on hold, opportunities get delayed and productivity suffers. 

The focus therefore shouldn’t be on hastily cutting costs, but being smarter about where spend goes. By investing in transparent spend management tools and empowering teams with real-time visibility and control, businesses can protect efficiency and make every pound work harder. Financial control is about making informed, proactive decisions that safeguard efficiency and growth, even in uncertain times.