In this analysis we have mainly concentrated on the tax measures that will directly affect individuals, employers and small businesses.
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Summary
This was a forward-looking Budget, with much of the content based on the assumption that the current Government will pick up where it left off, after the General Election on 7 May 2015.
The sweeteners for voters include; a cut in duty on beer, cider and sprites, including whisky. The tax on road fuel is frozen, but the tax and NI charges for having the private use of a company car or van are set to increase above the levels which had already been predicted.
There are two changes to entrepreneurs’ relief which take effect immediately, but those should not affect people who are selling significant stakes in their businesses.
For the future the Chancellor promised to increase the tax-free personal allowance up to £11,000 and introduce a new tax-free savings allowance of £1,000, but not until April 2016 at the earliest. Class 2 NIC is set to be combined with Class 4 NIC, which will be a simplification for the self-employed.
The promised abolition of annual tax returns to be replaced by an online tax account may sound attractive, but HMRC’s track-record of mixing up figures submitted under RTI does not bode well for such an ambitious project.
We have organised the coverage below into future promises, which can only happen after the General Election, and immediate changes which take effect from 18 March 2015, or from April 2015.
This newsletter is a summary of the key tax points from the Budget, based on the documents released on 18 March 2015. It is possible that a different position will be shown by the draft legislation which is due to be published on 24 March 2015. We will keep you informed of any significant developments.