Budget 2018: more treat than trick?

Stephen Relf FCA CTA, lead tax writer at Croner-i, takes a look at the key changes announced in Budget 2018, from reform of off-payroll working rules (IR35) in the private sector and business rate cuts to the freeze of the current £85,000 VAT registration threshold until 2022

The Chancellor faced a dilemma in the run-up to the Budget. Should he continue to chase a budget surplus, cutting tax reliefs and making deeper cuts to public spending; or should he signal an end to austerity, borrowing to fund gifts for the NHS and others?

Buoyed by improved fiscal forecasts, the Chancellor opted for mince pies over pumpkins; to use his own words, his speech was less ‘Hammo House of Horrors’ and more ‘Spreadsheet Phil turns Santa Claus’.

Almos

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