Chancellor sets his stall for what will be in this year’s Budget - EY
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Chris Sanger, EY’s Head of Tax Policy, comments on the Spring Statement:
“Someone who’d missed the Chancellor’s protestations over the last few weeks would be forgiven for not realising that we’d moved from a Spring Budget to a Spring Statement. With the same level of jokes and updates on the economy, all that was lacking was the bulk of tax related measures that normally follows the first 20 minutes of the speech. Instead we saw the Chancellor lay bare his ideas for the November Budget: the taxation of digital companies, potential changes to the VAT threshold, taxation increases to discourage single use plastics, with the money raised ear-marked for incentivising innovation, with a £20m down payment to boot.
“So, ironically, in the Spring Statement, for once we have seen a real Pre-Budget Report –something that has been difficult for previous Chancellors to deliver. The extra time to consult is very welcome and should allow discussion of the topics while the ideas are forming, rather than once the government has become committed to developing the concepts to fruition.
“This provides the business community the opportunity to engage in the consultation process before the Treasury makes any decision.”
