Spring Statement 2018

This was not an occasion to announce tax measures or changes. We have in effect moved from having two ‘set piece events’, a Spring Budget and an Autumn Statement, to only one, an Autumn Budget which sets out all the tax and spending decisions for the upcoming year.

This new Spring Statement is a much lower profile event, at least from a taxation perspective.

Therefore there were no significant announcements in the speech itself, but there was talk of various consultations taking place, surrounding the VAT threshold and the taxation of online trading in particular. The effect of these consultations is generally a change to the tax rules at some time in the future, once the usually lengthy process is complete.

In summary, not much to get excited about immediately, but as ever we continue to monitor the “tax landscape” for any future changes as may affect our clients.

Andrew Cowe – Tax Manager – Brearley & Co