Spring Statement In Short (Robin’s Reaction)

The first Spring Statement was never going to be a big tax event. When it was announced that the annual budget would move to the Autumn it was also explained that it would be the only budget of the year leaving the Spring Statement to be more of an “end of year” report. And so it was with previous forecasts being revisited.

But was there anything in the Spring Statement worth mentioning from a tax point of view? Yes there was.

• Making Tax Digital (MTD) is still going ahead. Current plans are as they were last announced, VAT reporting will be via MTD from April 2019.

• A consultation will be taking place regarding VAT registration. The consultation will discuss the effect of introducing of a 50% tolerance to the registration threshold. Interesting idea that might help smooth VAT registration for some businesses that find themselves temporarily going over the threshold.

• Another VAT consultation considering whether online payments for goods and services could be split sending the VAT element direct to HMRC. The main intention of which is to look at how HMRC can ensure they receive the VAT collected from you and me.

• There’s an extension to the tax relief available for self-funded work-related training. This is to encourage and grow our skill base and thus UK productivity.

• Another consultation, this time looking to preserve the 10% Entrepreneurs Rate of CGT which in some circumstances can be lost.

I await the results of the consultations with interest and will discuss any developments as they arise.

But perhaps the biggest shock was the possibility of us losing the 2p and 1 penny pieces, although it was soon confirmed that they weren’t going to be withdrawn!