Although there are limited details about the proposed consultations, they are mentioned, albeit briefly, in the 108-page Budget 2018 Red Book, although it does not include concrete timeframes for many of them.

The proposed consultations include:

Child trust funds - in 2019 there will be a consultation on draft regulations for maturing child trust fund accounts. As included in Budget 2018, the annual subscription limit for child trust funds for 2019-20 will be uprated to £4,368 to keep it in line with consumer price index (CPI). The consultation will begin in 2019 although there is no defined date for this.

Taxation of trusts - in 2019 the government will consult on the taxation on trusts with a view to making the taxation of trusts 'simpler, fairer and more transparent' in its words. This has been on the cards for some time although the government has so far put off launching a full blown review.

R&D tax relief for SMEs - the government will consult on changes to the amount of payable research and development (R&D) tax credit that a qualifying loss-making company can receive in any tax year, which will be restricted to three times the company’s total PAYE and NIC liability for that year. Changes will come into effect on or after 1 April 2020 and the government intends to consult beforehand but has provided no timeframe.

Stamp duty land tax (SDLT) charge for non-residents - in January 2019, the government will publish a consultation on an SDLT surcharge of 1% for non-residents buying residential property in England and Northern Ireland.

Corporate capital loss restriction - Finance Bill 2019-20 will include restrictions on companies’ use of carried-forward capital losses to 50% of capital gains, effective from 1 April 2020. A consultation paper was published on 29 October 2018 with the intention of publishing draft legislation in the summer of 2019.

IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts - the new insurance accounting standard, IFRS 17, effective from 1 January 2021, will change how insurance contracts are 'recognised, measured, presented and disclosed'. The government intends to run an informal consultation in 2019 on whether Finance Bill 2019-20 should include changes to the taxation treatment of insurance contracts.

Pensions charge cap - the charge cap is a limit as to the annual amount that can be charged to savers in a pension scheme and is currently set at 0.75% of the fund held in the saver's pension account. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will consult in 2019 on the function of the pensions charge cap to ensure that it ‘does not unduly restrict the use of performance fees within default pension schemes, while maintaining member protections’.

Plastics tax - a tax on the production and import of plastic packaging is planned for introduction in April 2022 following greater public awareness of the material's environmental impact. At present the tax is intended to apply to plastic packaging which does not contain at least 30% recycled materials. The government plans to launch a public consultation with a view to drafting legislation for a future finance bill.

Report by James Bunney