The new Chancellor, Phillip Hammond, delivered his first, and the nation’s last, Spring Budget last month. For those hoping for giveaways, there were none of significance; on the other hand, those worried about measures that might cost you money needn’t have fretted. It really wasn’t much of a Budget.

There were, however, a couple of interesting sub-plots. It’s really difficult at present for the Chancellor to plan for the next few years. He knows he needs to address the country’s deficit – estimated at a staggering £130,000 per household – but he has no idea what the financial impact of triggering Article 50 and the UK subsequently leaving the EU will be. How can he? He has no idea as to what the terms of our exit will be as there have been no serious negotiations.

The biggest change to our taxation system in a generation

As with every Chancellor in recent times, Mr Hammond announced a series of consultations over the summer on a variety of fiscal matters. He will have time to digest the results before he presents his first Autumn Budget in November this year. I suspect we will see a lot more measures introduced at that time.

But it’s perhaps a couple of the consultations that are already in motion on which the greater focus will be in the coming months. Labelled ‘the death of the tax return’ by former Chancellor, George Osborne, a couple of years ago, the introduction of ‘Making Tax Digital’ in April 2018 is set to be the biggest change to our taxation system in a generation – certainly since the introduction of self-assessment in 1997. There will be a lot more to bring you on this subject in the coming months.

Most people in my profession, including me, are concerned that it is being rushed through by the Treasury, but, in the main, Mr Hammond is not backing down. Watch this space.

Narrowing the gap in tax breaks

The second ongoing consultation is into the alleged disparities between taxation of the employed and self-employed. Currently self-employed people, including those who operate through their own limited companies, enjoy greater tax breaks than employed people. The government seems intent on narrowing that gap, with the Chancellor announcing (and subsequently changing his mind on) increased national insurance for the self-employed and an increase in tax on dividends for those operating through a private limited company. However, he seems to have overlooked completely the risks taken by the self-employed, with the measures that he announced flying in the face of the government’s intention to fuel the entrepreneurial spirit.

It may not have been much of a Budget, but there’s plenty going on in the tax world!