Spring Statement 2018

Chancellor Philip Hammond unveiled his 2018 Spring Statement today and, as expected, there were no tax or spending changes from the 2017 Autumn Budget.

You may notice that there was no mention of reforms to IR35 in the private sector. Whilst some commentary may take this as indication that this is no longer on HMRC’s radar, another opinion is that the Spring Statement would be a good time to begin the consultation on changes to how IR35 is operated. As a result, we would recommend keeping the champagne on ice, for now at least!

The main points from the Statement were as follows:

”Light at the end of the tunnel”’

National debt predicted to fall quicker than expected, to 77.9% of GDP by 2022/23. The first sustained fall in debt in 17 years.

GDP growth

Expected to be down 0.1% on the Autumn Budget predictions in years 2021 and 2022

Inflation

Expected to fall back to the target of 2% in the next 12 months.

Brexit cash allocated

The Chancellor explained how £1.5bn of cash set aside for Brexit will be spent in 2018/19.

Full detailed spending review to be held in 2019

This is more in-depth than the Budget and gives a longer-term view of the government’s spending plans.

Vans

Consultation announced for reduced VED rates for the cleanest vans.

VAT and online sales

There will also be a consultation on VAT and online sales, which will look at developing a better way to ensure the correct amount of VAT is collected.

A recap of the main points of the 2017 Autumn Budget can be found here.

Read the full report

You can download the full Spring Statement report below: