A summary of key points from the chancellor's Budget speech.

NEW measures from Budget 2013 and those announced in the 2012 Autumn Statement.

Income tax

NEW from 2014/15

NEW tax-free childcare

From Autumn 2015

  • Relief of up to 20% of childcare costs, with a limit of £1,200 towards child care costs for working parents whether self-employed or employees.
  • See Tax-free Childcare scheme

NEW Home ownership support

  • Help-to-buy scheme put down 5% and government adds in 20% interest free for first period
  • Mortgage guarantee scheme to be available to all home owners to support 130 billion of mortgages from 2014 for three years

Pensions

  • Ex-gratia payments to Equitable Life with profits policy holders who held policies in 1992
  • From 6 April 2012 abolishion of contracting out.

From 2014/15

Sole traders and partnerships

From 2013/14

  • Simpler Income Tax Scheme - unincorporated business  cash accounting and fixed rate expense claims
  • NEW consultation on bringing Class 2 NICs collection into Self Assessment
  • NEW the Office of Tax Simplification will carry out a scoping exercise on ways to simplify the taxation of partnerships.

NEW partnership anti-avoidance

  • NEW measures to tax loans from close companies to partnerships using the s455 CTA 2010 tax charge.

The Government has now announced that it will consult on measures to:

  • Remove the presumption of self-employment for limited liability partnership (LLP) partners, to tackle the disguising of employment relationships through LLPs.
  • Counter the manipulation of profit/loss allocations (by both LLPs and other partnerships) to secure tax advantages.

A consultation document will be published with proposals to address both issues in the spring, with legislation to be introduced in Finance Bill 2014.

Seed Investment scheme

For 2013/14

  • Gains accruing in 2013/14 may be reinvested in SEIS schemes in 2013/14 and 2014/15
  • A correction to the legislation to ensure that company will not be disqualified from SEIS where established by a corporate formation agent
  • See Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS)

Corporation tax

Corporation tax anti-avoidance

NEW measures to tackle:

  • Corporate loss buying
  • Close company loans: avoidance of s455 tax by making loans via intermediaries, see Running an LLP in tandem with a company
  • Trade and property business deductions: a rule to govern relationship between corporation tax and income tax deduction.

Capital allowances

  • R & D - increase in above the line tax credits
  • Shale gas exploration allowances
  • Low emission vehicles, from 2015/16 extension of the 100% allowance until 2018

Employers and employees

From 2014/15

  • NEW employment allowance: £2,000 allowance on employers NICs designed to help small firms
  • NEW: Tax free employment beneficial loans increases to £10,000
  • NEW: RTI - HMRC relax filing requirements for smaller employers until 5 October 2013
  • NEW: employers to expect NICs increases when the contracted out pension is abolished
  • NEW: collection of tax debt via PAYE: limits to be increased
  • NEW consultation to combat PAYE avoidance by use of offshore intermediaries.

2015/16

Inheritance tax

  • NEW anti-avoidance rules which may limit a deduction for liabilities against an individual's estate on death to the extent that it is repaid the creditor, or when a liability exceeds the value of the exempt assets that it was incurred to acquire.

Gift Aid

  • Introduction of a single Gift Aid declaration online in Finance Act 2014.

Stamp duty

  • NEW stampt duty abolished on share transactions on UK companies quoted on Small Company Growth Markets.

VAT

  • Registration and de-registration VAT thresholds increase on 1 April 2013
  • Place of supply telecoms, broadcasting and e-services at customer location. 

Tax avoidance

  • NEW avoidance measures include agreements with Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey.
  • NEW consultation to combat PAYE avoidance by use of offshore intermediaries.
  • The introduction of a General Anti-Abuse Rule (GAAR) from July 2013 (the date of Royal Assent to the 2013 Finance Bill)
  • NEW SDLT sub-sale schemes additional measures "to put beyond doubt" that sub-sale/transfer for rights schemes are ineffective. Purchasers to notify HMRC by 30 September 2013.
  • Tax and procurement: goverment suppliers will have to self certify tax compliance, see Tax-avoiders to be excluded from government contracts
Other
  • 1p off the price of a pint of beer
  • The fuel escalator has been scrapped
  • Fuel duty frozen for two years

Economic

  • The economy is expected to grow by 0.6% this year not 1.2% as expected. Followed by growth of 1.8% in 2014, and 2.3% in 2015
  • The national debt will hit 85% of GDP, and will not start falling until 2017-18 (a year later than expected)
  • Whitehall spending cuts will reach £3bn, not £2.5bn as expected, to fund a capital expenditure programme

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