Osborne's tax tinkering kept to a minimum
Chris Sanger, head of tax policy at Ernst & Young, comments on the tax measures in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement “The Chancellor has broadly resisted the temptation of using the tax system to micro-manage the economy. In contrast to some of his predecessors, he launched only one high profile tax incentive – the Seed Investment Enterprise Scheme – and instead put more focus on spending initiatives. However, he also increased the generosity for certain of the Enterprise Zones, which may hold the promise of greater help in the future.
“The Banks once again bore the brunt of the tax rises, with an increase in the Bank Levy for the third time running. However, the Treasury did rule out the EU’s Financial Transaction Tax, which may have been meant to sweeten the pill.
“Fuel duty was the main tax cut in a broadly neutral Autumn Statement. Businesses will now be waiting for Legislation Day (L-Day), on 6 December, when we will see the responses to the consultations that have been open over the Summer. At that time, we expect to see the reforms that the Chancellor mentioned in his speech to give the UK the most competitive tax regime in the G20. Roll on L-Day.”
