Few accountants will probably have missed the fact that yesterday Parliament and the Media were awash with George Osborne’s 2015 Autumn Statement. These annual events typically throw up something to keep Accountants on their toes and this year’s Autumn Statement was no different.
In particular, for those who support private clients, property investors and small businesses, a number of headlines warrant some flagging.
- The state pension is to rise by £3.35 a week to £119.30 next year.
- Savings credit is to be frozen at current level.
- Buy to let homes will have to face a 3% surcharge on the Stamp Duty band for the property from April 2016.
- By 2019, individuals will be required to pay any capital gains tax due within 30 days of the disposal of residential property. Currently individuals have up to 21 months after the sale of a property to pay CGT.
Digital Tax Accounts
This last point leads on to another announcement from the Chancellor that every individual and small business is to have their own digital tax account by the end of the decade. We had of course had wind of this in the Budget back in March and that announcement prompted headlines of the ‘End of The Tax Return’.
The reiteration of the digital tax account again in the Autumn Statement shows the Government’s intention to make these a reality. You can see why, when estimates suggest they can pick up £1bn of additional tax revenues through the system by reducing record-keeping errors. Prompter payment periods also seem to be front of mind for The Treasury.
In an HMRC conference we attended back in September, it was very clear that HMRC’s technical team have the digital tax accounts down as a major priority – see our report and feedback from the conference. It would probably explain why the Chancellor also pledged an additional £450m in the Autumn Statement for spending on government digital services – to make it easier for the public to do things online.
Accountants should also be aware that George Osborne confirmed £800m will be spent on tackling evasion and non-compliance through to 2020 – so expect further scrutiny. And it’s not just small business accountants which will be under the spotlight, word is out that there are plans to bring in new requirements on tax compliance for large businesses too – including the obligation for large corporates to publish their UK tax strategies.
Summary
Whilst for now, there wasn’t much from this year’s Autumn Statement to alter the immediate workings of many an accountant, clearly there is significant change to come.
The team at BTCSoftware will continue to liaise with HMRC about their planned introduction of the digital tax accounts and will, of course, keep you posted about developments on that front.
If, in the meantime, you have any questions regarding your BTCSoftware tax and accounting products in relation to the planned changes, please contact us on Freephone 0800 612 7650 or email Sales@BTCSoftware.co.uk.
