Spring Statement set two weeks before Brexit

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, has announced that the government will publish its next Spring Statement on Wednesday 13 March 2019

This date may come as a surprise to many as it comes only 16 days before the UK leaves the EU on 29 March.

The Finance (no.3) Bill 2018 has also not been passed. The Bill was published on 7 November 2018 and had its first reading on 9 January. The second reading of the Bill in the House of Lords and all remaining stages are scheduled for 7 February 2019.

In his Spring Statement the Chancellor will respond to the Office of Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) forecast and will give an update on the economy, but it will not contain any major policy announcements.

In Autumn Statement 2016, Hammond announced that the government is to move to a single major fiscal event each year, the Autumn Budget, pointing out that the UK is the only major advanced economy to make major changes to the tax system twice a year.

Accountancy Daily