From the editor:
The Autumn Statement was ‘more like a pre-election Budget than an economic update’ (Chris Sanger). The chancellor hailed his announcement on ‘full expensing’ as ‘the biggest business tax cut in modern British history’, but it is ‘worth remembering that it comes only a few years after the biggest business tax rise in modern British history’ (Mike Lane). There are reductions to NICs, but ‘for many it would be more accurate to say their taxes are being raised more slowly rather than being cut in real terms’ (Matthew Rowbotham). The R&D relief ‘roller coaster’ continues with confirmation of the merger of two reliefs, albeit with separate rules for R&D intensive SMEs (Mohammed Mogra). Helpfully, there are some ‘hidden simplification measures’ (Christine Cairns). MTD remains a work in progress, but ‘at least the government is listening’ (Paul Aplin).
Notable omissions? There was no mention of IHT or other capital taxes. Speculation over SDLT cuts was ill founded, which is perhaps a good thing. Unsurprisingly, there was no attempt to tackle anti-growth ‘cliff edges’, such as the VAT registration threshold, or to start a proper debate on reforming the tax system - but that would have been expecting too much.
Overall, it was ‘a curious mix of sensible long-term planning and pre-election gimmickry’ (Duncan Weldon). And as many have pointed out, fiscal drag continues to drag on.
Paul Stainforth
Report and commentary:
Exactly what sort of an event was this, asks Chris Sanger (EY).
A detailed guide to all the tax measures, reported by Lexis+ UK Tax, with additional practitioner comment:
