Spring Budget 2020 - Campbell Dallas

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Spring Budget 2020 - Campbell Dallas
Spring Budget 2020
Spring Budget 2020 - Campbell Dallas
2 | Contents

CONTENTS

               Personal taxes                                                                                                  4

               Business                                                                                                        6

               VAT                                                                                                             8

               Duties                                                                                                          10

               Other announcements                                                                                             12

    Important information
    The way in which tax charges (or tax relief, as appropriate) are applied depends up individual circumstances and may be
    subject to future change.

    The information in this report is based on our understanding of the Spring Budget 2020, in respect of which specific
    implementation details may change when the final legislation and supporting documentation are published.

    This document is solely for information purposes and nothing in it is intended to constitute advice or a recommendation.
    You should not make any investment decisions based on its content.

    While considerable care has been taken to ensure the information contained within this document is accurate and up-to-
    date, no warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of any information.
Introduction | 3

INTRODUCTION

       “As we deal with                                  Sunak delivered the first Budget speech since
                                                         October 2018, just 27 days after succeeding
       coronavirus, this is a                            Sajid Javid.
       Budget that provides                              Inheritance tax may have been on Javid’s mind prior
                                                         to his Valentine’s Day resignation, but not Sunak’s.
       security today but it                             Despite the Office for Tax Simplification’s multiple
       is also a plan for                                recommendations, no change was forthcoming.

       prosperity tomorrow.”                             Prior to Sunak’s speech, there was a lot of noise
                                                         about the potential scrapping of entrepreneurs’
                                                         relief. Gauging public mood, Sunak went for a
       Chancellor, Rishi Sunak                           compromise, leaving the relief in place but lowering
                                                         the lifetime allowance from £10 million to £1m.
                                                         Campaigners were also banging the drum for a
                                                         revamp of the business rates system in England.
                                                         Firms with rateable values of less than £51,000 in
                                                         the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors won’t have
“Getting it done” is the soundbite Chancellor Rishi
                                                         to pay business rates from April 2020 for a full year.
Sunak clearly wanted us to take away from his
debut Budget speech, but “giving it away” might          That will buy time for a comprehensive review of
be more accurate.                                        business rates, which is expected to report around
                                                         the time of the next Budget in the autumn.
The Government's substantial majority gave Sunak
carte blanche to overhaul taxes but, in the end, there   Sunak also announced cash grants of £3,000
were relatively few substantial changes.                 for businesses with rateable values of less than
                                                         £15,000 and a temporary loan scheme for SMEs. It
Instead, one announcement after another was
                                                         is expected that the Scottish Government will
made on investment in public services, roads and
                                                         make a similar pledge to businesses in due course.
railways. With the coronavirus (COVID-19) high on
the agenda, there were also emergency measures           The main rate of corporation tax was due to reduce
designed to provide respite for beleaguered              from 19% to 17% next month. That no longer goes
businesses and to protect jobs.                          ahead – but we knew that already.
Having been forced to abandon plans to publish an        Changes to capital gains tax will also proceed as
economic forecast in November 2019, the Office for       planned. A 30-day window for paying capital gains
Budget Responsibility produced an overdue update         tax on property sales kicks in from 6 April, at the
on the future health of the economy – and it wasn’t      same time as changes to letting relief and private
good. Its 2020 growth forecast was cut to 1.1%,          residence relief.
having forecast 1.4% growth last year, and that’s
                                                         And, as promised in the Conservative Party
without taking into account the potential shock to
                                                         manifesto before the election late last year, there
the global economy of COVID-19.
                                                         were no increases to the rates for income tax, VAT
                                                         or National Insurance.
4 | Personal taxes

                     PERSONAL TAXES

Rates and allowances                                       Pension lifetime allowance
The tax-free personal allowance will remain at             The lifetime allowance for pension savings increases
£12,500 for the 2020/21 tax year throughout the UK.        for 2020/21 from £1,055,000 to £1,073,100.
The basic-rate band in England, Northern Ireland and
Wales will stay at £37,500 and consequently, the
                                                           Capital gains tax
higher-rate threshold will continue to be £50,000.         From 6 April 2020, the annual exempt amount for
                                                           individuals and personal representatives will increase
The additional-rate band in those nations will also
                                                           from £12,000 to £12,300. For trustees of settlements,
remain at £150,000.
                                                           the annual exempt amount will increase to £6,150.
In Scotland, the starter-rate rises to £14,585 and the
                                                           Disposal of UK residential property
basic-rate will increase to £25,158.
                                                           UK residents who sell a residential property in the UK
The intermediate-rate will remain at £43,430 and
                                                           on or after 6 April 2020 may have to report the gain
likewise, the higher-rate will stay at £150,000. The top
                                                           and pay any capital gains tax owed to HMRC within
rate will remain in place for income over £150,000.
                                                           30 days of completion.
National living wage                                       Letting relief
The national living wage applicable to over-25s            From April 2020, letting relief will only be available in
increases by 6.2% from £8.21 an hour to £8.72 an           circumstances where the owner of the property is in
hour from April 2020.                                      shared occupancy with the tenant.
                                                           Private residence relief
National Insurance
                                                           In most cases, the final-period of exemption will fall
contributions                                              from 18 months to nine months from April 2020.
The threshold for class 1 primary contributions paid
by employees and the class 4 national insurance            Pension tapered annual
contributions (NICs) paid by the self-employed will
increase from £8,632 to £9,500 for 2020/21.
                                                           allowance
                                                           From 6 April 2020, threshold income will increase
From April 2021 employers will pay no secondary
                                                           from £110,000 to £200,000. The adjusted income
class 1 NICs in relation to veterans they employ that
                                                           will increase from £150,000 to £240,000 and
have left regular service.
                                                           the minimum reduced tapered allowance will be
This payment holiday will last for one year from the       decreased from £10,000 to £4,000.
employment commencement date.
The class 2 NICs rate for the self-employed will
                                                           Residence nil-rate band
increase from £3.00 per week to £3.05 per week             The residence nil-rate band for inheritance tax
from April 2020. Class 2 NIC is payable by 31              increases from £150,000 to £175,000 from
January following the end of the tax year.                 6 April 2020.
Personal taxes | 5

Company van and fuel benefit                                             Top-slicing relief on life
From 6 April 2020, the flat-rate van benefit charge                      insurance policies
increases from £3,430 to £3,490, and the flat-rate van
                                                                         For gains made on or after 11 March 2020, any
fuel benefit increases from £655 to £666. Any future
                                                                         allowances and reliefs within the top-slicing relief
rises will be in line with consumer price index (CPI).
                                                                         calculation must be set as far as possible against
A nil rate will apply to zero-emission vans that fall                    other income in preference to the gain.
within the van benefit charge from April 2021.
                                                                         The personal allowance will be reinstated within
                                                                         the calculation of top-slicing relief. Previously some
Company car and fuel benefit                                             taxpayers may have lost their entitlement to some or
The car fuel benefit multiplier increases from £24,100                   all of the personal allowance due to the gain having
to £24,500 from 6 April 2020 and will rise in line with                  been included as part of their income.
the CPI thereafter.
As previously announced, the Government will
                                                                         Loan charge
introduce new company car benefit-in-kind rates, with                    In summary, the loan charge will:
reductions for electric and certain hybrid cars.
                                                                         • apply to loans made between 9 December 2010
Rates for cars first registered from 6 April 2020                          and 5 April 2019
will increase by 1% in 2021/22 and a further 1% in
                                                                         • not apply to loans made prior to the 2016/17 tax
2022/23. Rates will then be frozen until 2024/25.
                                                                           year where a reasonable disclosure had been
                                                                           made to HMRC.
ISAs
                                                                         Individuals affected by the loan charge will be able
The adult ISA annual subscription limit remains at
                                                                         to elect to split their loan balance over the tax years
£20,000 for 2020/21 and will rise thereafter in line
                                                                         2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21.
with CPI.
                                                                         In relation to 2018/19, individuals will not face any
The junior ISA annual subscription limit and the child
                                                                         late payment penalties or interest, provided a return
trust fund annual subscription limit both increase
                                                                         is filed and payment made by 30 September 2020.
from £4,368 to £9,000 with effect from 6 April 2020.

Income tta
         ax ba
            bands & rra
                      ates - E
                             Enngland, No
                                       Northern IIrreland & Wa
                                                            Wales

 Band                        2020/21                           Rate       2019/20                           Rate
 Personal allowance          Up to £12,500                     Nil        Up to £12,500                     Nil
 Basic-rate                  Over £12,500 to £50,000           20%        Over £12,500 to £50,000           20%
 Higher-rate*                Over £50,000 to £150,000          40%        Over £50,000 to £150,000          40%
 Additional-rate*            Above £150,000                    45%        Above £150,000                    45%
*The personal allowance is reduced by £1 for every £2 of income from £100,000 to £125,000 (2019/20, £125,000).

Current Scottish Rate of Income Tax (SRIT) bands & rates – Scotland*
Band                         2020/21                           Rate      2019/20                            Rate
Personal allowance           Up to £12,500                     Nil       Up to £12,500                      Nil
Starter-rate                 Over £12,500 to £14,585           19%       Over £12,500 to £14,549            19%
Scottish Basic Rate          Over £14,585 to £25,158           20%       Over £14,549 to £24,944            20%
Intermediate-rate            Over £25,158 to £43,430           21%       Over £24,944 to £43,430            21%
Higher-rate                  Over £43,430 to £150,000          41%       Over £43,430 to £150,000           41%
Top-rate                     Above £150,000                    46%       Above £150,000                     46%
 ‘*Applies to non-savings income only. Savings and dividend income assessed against UK bands.
6 | Business

                   BUSINESS

Corporation tax                                          Capital allowances
The main rate of corporation tax will now remain         The availability of first year capital allowances of
at 19% from 1 April 2020, despite original plans to      100% for zero-emission cars (as opposed to those
reduce this to 17%. This remains the lowest headline     cars not exceeding 50 g/km), zero-emission goods
rate in the G20.                                         vehicles or equipment for gas refueling stations for
                                                         use in the business will be extended from April 2021
Additionally, it was announced that the main rate of
                                                         to April 2025.
corporation tax will be set at 19% for the financial
year beginning 1 April 2021.                             The main writing-down allowance of 18% will only
                                                         apply to cars with emissions of up 50g/km.
Employment allowance                                     The special rate writing-down allowance of 6% will
With effect from April 2020, the employment              apply to cars with emissions above 50g/km. This is a
allowance will increase from £3,000 to £4,000.           reduction from the existing threshold of 110g/km.
In contrast, access to the employment allowance will     The new 50g/km threshold will also apply for
be restricted to employers whose national insurance      determining the lease rental restriction for the
contributions liability in the previous tax year was     costs of hiring business vehicles for more than 45
less than £100,000.                                      consecutive days.

Structures and buildings                                 Research and development
allowance                                                relief PAYE cap
From April 2020, the structures and buildings            The introduction of the PAYE cap on the payable tax
allowance (SBA) will increase from 2% to 3%.             credit in the SME research and development scheme
                                                         will be delayed until 1 April 2021.
The SBA came in from 29 October 2018 and aims
to relieve the construction, renovation or conversion
costs of non-residential structures and buildings
                                                         Off-payroll working rules
used for qualifying purposes over their lifetime.        As previously announced, the Government has
                                                         completed a review of the reform to off-payroll
Businesses with chargeable periods spanning
                                                         working in the private sector and, as planned, the
April 2020 can claim 2% a year for days in the
                                                         rules will be implemented on 6 April 2020.
period before April 2020 and 3% for days thereafter.

Research and development                                 Deduction for home working
                                                         From April 2020, the flat-rate expense available to
expenditure credit                                       employees to cover additional household expenses,
The research and development expenditure credit,         where they are required to work at home, will
often referred to as the RDEC or ‘above the line         increase from £4 per week to £6 per week.
credit’, is rising from 12% to 13%, from 1 April 2020.
Business | 7

Business rates                                            Enterprise management
There were a wide range of changes announced in           incentive scheme
relation to business rates.
                                                          A review into the enterprise management incentive
It was already announced that from 1 April 2020,          scheme aims to ensure it continues to support
for one year, the business rates retail discount for      high-growth companies to recruit and retain the
properties with a rateable value below £51,000 in         best talent, and examine whether a wider number of
England will increase from one third to 50% and will      companies should be able to access the scheme.
be expanded to include cinemas and music venues.
                                                          Intangibles reform
In response to COVID-19, the retail discount will
                                                          Legislation will be introduced to remove the pre-2002
be increased to 100% and expanded to include
                                                          exclusion from the intangible fixed assets regime to
hospitality and leisure businesses.
                                                          support UK investment in intellectual property and
An increase from £1,000 to £5,000 business rates          other intangible assets.
discount for pubs in England with a rateable value
                                                          Tax relief for the cost of acquiring corporate
below £100,000 for one year from April 2020.
                                                          intangible assets on or after 1 July 2020 will be
The £1,500 business rates discount for office             provided under a single regime, subject to
space used by local newspapers in England will be         anti-avoidance restrictions.
extended for a further five years until 31 March 2025.
                                                          This measure allows companies to claim corporation
It is expected that the Scottish Government will
                                                          tax relief for pre-2002 intangible fixed assets
make a similar pledge to businesses in due course.
                                                          acquired from related parties on or after 1 July 2020.
Entrepreneurs’ relief                                     Corporate capital
The lifetime limit on qualifying disposals eligible for
the 10% tax rate is reduced from £10m to £1m for
                                                          loss restriction
disposals made on or after 11 March 2020.                 Companies making chargeable gains in accounting
                                                          periods ending on or after 1 April 2020 will only be
Any entrepreneurs’ relief claimed on previous
                                                          able to offset up to 50% of those gains using carried
qualifying gains must be taken into account when
                                                          forward capital losses.
establishing the extent of the lifetime limit still
available.                                                This measure includes an allowance that gives
                                                          companies unrestricted use of up to £5 million
There are special provisions for disposals entered
                                                          capital or income losses each year, which means
into before 11 March 2020.
                                                          99% of companies should be unaffected.
In such cases, the disposal will be subject to the
                                                          Transitional rules apply where an accounting period
£1m cap unless it can be demonstrated that the
                                                          straddles the above date.
contract was not entered into to obtain a tax
advantage
and, where the parties are connected, the contract
must have been entered into for wholly commercial
reasons.
8 | VAT

                   VAT

Abolition of the ‘tampon tax’                           Reverse charge VAT in the
The first headline for VAT in the Chancellor’s          construction industry
speech came when Sunak announced that the UK
                                                        Firms in the construction industry are reminded
leaving the EU presents an opportunity to introduce
                                                        about the domestic reverse charge, which was
legislation applying the zero-rate of VAT to women’s
                                                        initially announced in Budget 2018 and seeks to
sanitary products.
                                                        reduce fraud.
VAT is currently charged at 5% on these products.
                                                        It will be similar to the construction industry
This is to be scrapped from 1 January 2021.
                                                        scheme and will see contractors accounting for
This has been a controversial area of VAT for a         VAT on supplies by their subcontractors when those
number of years, with the media labelling it the        supplies will be recharged on by the contractor.
‘tampon tax’. A growing number of protesters
                                                        The scheme could require firms in this sector to
had called for its abolition.
                                                        update their accounting systems and could result in
                                                        an impact to some businesses’ cashflow position.
VAT and digital publications
                                                        It was scheduled to be introduced in October 2019,
Zero-rate VAT will also apply to digital publications
                                                        but was postponed at the last minute. It will be
of books, newspapers, magazines or academic
                                                        introduced on 1 October 2020 and may be very
journals from 1 December 2020.
                                                        important to a number of businesses in this sector.
Unlike the tampon tax, this is not a Brexit-related
change. The EU rules in respect of electronic           Agricultural flat-rate scheme
publications were actually relaxed in October 2018
                                                        Following a consultation, the Government
allowing such publications to be treated the same
                                                        will introduce new entry and exit rules for the
as hard-copy titles.
                                                        agricultural flat-rate scheme (AFRS) next year.
However, the intended change to the UK rules
                                                        These changes will kick in from 1 January 2021:
follows the recent relatively high-profile News Corp
case, which saw the electronic versions of The Sun      • Businesses can join the AFRS when their annual
and The Times newspapers found to be zero-rated.          turnover for farming-related activities is £150,000
                                                          or less.
It also overturns HMRC’s recent Revenue and
Customs Brief 1 (2020), which suggested it was          • Businesses must notify HMRC once their annual
of the opinion that other digital publications would      turnover for farming-related activities exceeds
remain standard-rated following the case.                 £230,000 to be deregistered for the scheme and
                                                          registered for VAT instead.
The new rules should see eBooks, eNewspapers
and academic journals having the same VAT               • Non-farming businesses with turnover exceeding
treatment as physical copies of the same titles.          £85,000 will still be required to register for VAT
                                                          and will be ineligible to use the AFRS.
VAT | 9

VAT on goods entering the UK                               Partial exemption and capital
Spring Budget 2020 makes a number of references            goods scheme
to bringing goods into the UK.
                                                           The Government has been calling for evidence from
Firstly, the UK will implement legislation to bring the    stakeholders on the application of partial exemption
EU ‘quick-fix’ legislation into UK law. This will apply    and the capital goods scheme.
during the transition period and for UK purposes, it
                                                           Many taxpayers and advisers believe the rules
will mainly relate to ‘call-off stock’.
                                                           surrounding VAT recovery where a business has
Many of the other EU quick fixes, such as the need         both taxable and VAT-exempt activities are complex.
to put EU VAT numbers on invoices, already apply.
                                                           The Government has promised to engage with
The rules that apply to ‘call-off stock’ can be            stakeholders and will publish a response following
complex but can allow businesses storing goods             the call for evidence in due course.
in other EU member states to avoid the need to
register for VAT there. If a business is likely to store   VAT and financial
goods overseas during the transition period, it will
                                                           An industry working group is to be formed to
probably require further advice.
                                                           consider the future application of VAT to
The documentation also mentions the concept of             financial services.
postponed accounting, which will come into play
                                                           In the meantime, the Government will be legislating
after the end of the transitional period.
                                                           in order to widen the scope of the VAT exemption
From 1 January 2021, postponed accounting will             for the management of special investment funds.
apply to all goods coming into the UK, including
                                                           VAT
EU goods. The VAT will be accounted for on a
business’s VAT return in a similar way to the               From 1 April                         2020   2019
acquisition tax, which currently applies to EU              Standard rate                        20%    20%
acquisitions of goods.                                      VAT fraction                         1/6    1/6
Last but not least, there will be two consultations in      Reduced rate, eg on domestic fuel    5%     5%
respect of the VAT treatment of goods.                      VAT fraction                         1/21   1/21
One will relate to goods supplied to the UK by
overseas sellers.                                          Taxable turnover limits
This will be open to interested stakeholders and will       From 1 April                      2020      2019
consider low-value imports and goods which are              Registration over*                £85,000   £85,000
located in the UK.                                          Deregistration under**            £83,000   £83,000
The other will look at tax and duty-free goods.            * Last 12 months or next 30 days
                                                           ** Next 12 months
10 | Duties

                   DUTIES

Stamp duty land tax surcharge
on non-UK residents
With effect from 1 April 2021, a 2% stamp duty
land tax surcharge will apply to non-UK residents
purchasing residential property in England and
                                                      (ii)
Northern Ireland.

Stamp duty and stamp duty                             The Scottish Government are increasing the charge
reserve tax
On the transfer of unlisted securities to connected
companies, the Government previously introduced
a targeted market value rule to prevent artificial    The revised rates and bands will apply to
reduction of the tax due on share acquisitions        transactions where the effective date of the
when listed shares were transferred to a connected
company.                                              apply to transactions where the effective date is on

Spring Budget 2020 announced this rule will be        transaction have been entered into prior to 6
extended to unlisted companies in order to prevent
further tax avoidance.
As part of this change, legislation will be amended   NPV of Rent Payable       Rate of Tax
to prevent a double tax charge arising on certain
company reorganisations.
11 | Duties

Alcohol duties                                           Air passenger duty
The duties on alcoholic drinks – beer, cider, wine       Under the Scotland Act 2016, Air Passenger Duty
and spirits – are all being frozen.                      (APD) became a devolved matter however the
                                                         Scottish Government has confirmed that the
Fuel duty                                                introduction of APD’s replacement, Air Departure Tax
There has been a freeze on fuel duty for the last 10     (ADT) would be deferred beyond April 2020 and
years, and this continues for at least another year.     therefore APD will continue in Scotland as for the rest
                                                         of the UK.
Gaming duty
                                                         Long-haul air passenger duty (APD) will increase by
Gross gaming yield bands for gaming duty will            the Retail Prices Index (RPI) with effect from 1 April
increase in line with inflation from 1 April 2020.       2021, with short-haul rates remaining frozen at £13.
                                                         The rates are announced a year in advance to give
Vehicle excise duty                                      industry sufficient advance notice. The rates applying
The government has announced vehicle excise duty         from 1 April 2021 are as follows:
(VED) rates for cars, vans and motorcycles will
                                                         Destination   Reduced       Standard      Higher
increase in line with the RPI from 1 April 2020.
                                                         bands         rate          rate          rate

Starting from 1 April 2020, any zero-emission            Band A        £13           £26           £78
vehicle with a list price exceeding £40,000 registered   Band B        £82           £180          £541
from 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2025 will be exempt
from the VED ‘expensive car’ supplement.

Tobacco duty
Most tobacco duties will increase by RPI plus 2%
with immediate effect.
The exception is hand-rolling tobacco whichwill
suffer an increase of RPI plus 6%.
Other announcements | 12

                   OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Plastic packaging tax                                    Climate change levy
A new plastic packaging tax will take effect from        As previously announced, the Government’s intention
1 April 2022 at a rate of £200 per tonne.                to make gas and electricity rates equal by 2025.
This will apply to plastic packaging produced in, or     In order for the UK to meet its net-zero commitment,
imported into, the UK that does not contain at least     the Government recognises that it must continue to
30% recycled plastic.                                    remove incentives to choose gas over electricity.
The lead time is intended to give those businesses       With this in mind, the rates on electricity are being
affected time to adapt.                                  frozen, while the rate on gas will rise to £0.00568/
                                                         kWh in 2022/23 to £0.00672/kWh in 2023/24.
The Government intends to publish draft legislation
later this year for consultation, which will address
an exemption for producers and importers of small
                                                         Landfill tax
quantities of plastic packaging, as well as how the      Landfill tax is charged in England and Northern
tax will be collected, recovered and enforced.           Ireland on material disposed of at a landfill site.
                                                         It aims to encourage recycling and composting, and
Red diesel relief                                        to minimise material going to landfill.
From April 2022, the Government will remove the
                                                         Standard and lower rates are being increased on
entitlement to the use of red diesel and rebated
                                                         1 April 2020 by RPI as follows:
biofuels although exceptions will be in place for
agriculture, rail and for non-commercial heating.         Material sent to   Rates from 1       Rates from 1
                                                          landfill           April 2019         April 2020
There will also be a consultation on whether the
                                                          Standard rated     £91.35/tonne       £94.15/tonne
exceptions should be widened to include other
specific industries.                                      Lower rated        £2.90/tonne        £3.00/tonne
                                                         The Scottish Landfill Tax (SLfT) rates have also been
The measure is aimed at incentivising business to        updated and mirror the English and Northern Irish rates.
move to greener alternatives.

Small brewers’ relief                                    Housing co-operatives
The Chancellor expects the results of the review into    Two new reliefs were announced:
small brewers' relief will be published in the spring.   • Qualifying housing will be exempt from the annual
                                                           tax on enveloped dwellings (ATED).
Aggregates levy
                                                         • The 15% stamp duty land tax flat rate will not
The Government will freeze the aggregates levy rate        apply to housing co-operatives on purchases of
in 2020/21 and will publish its next steps as part of      dwellings over £500,000.
the comprehensive review of the levy.
                                                         The stamp duty land tax relief in England and
                                                         Northern Ireland will take effect from Autumn Budget
                                                         2020 and the UK-wide ATED relief from 1 April 2021,
                                                         with a refund available for 2020/21.
Spring Budget 2020

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