IN BRIEF

From April 2026, two of the main IHT reliefs, Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR), are changing:100% relief is limited to the first 1m of combined qualifying agricultural and business assets and...

Although not mentioned in the Budget speech, the accompanying documents included a policy paper and draft legislation proposing changes to the EOTs regime. Most of these changes will have an effect for disposals to an employee ownership trust on or...

On the stamp duty front, the Budget announcements (or lack of them) were unexpected.On the one hand, the Chancellor announced a chunky increase to the SDLT surcharge for those buying second homes. That surcharge is rising from 3% to 5% with...

Good news - the Chancellor has kept to her word with no change to the April 2024 pension tax reforms: the two new allowances LSA and LSBDA are still in place, there is no return to the Lifetime Allowance, no change to the higher Annual Allowance of...

The Budget contains some measures supportive of the green transition and some that are challenging for the North Seas oil and gas businesses. Taken overall the Budget increases the tax burden on the offshore industry, but there will be some...

Surprisingly, umbrella company reform made it into the Budget speech. However, the initial optimism soon gave way to shock. In the policy paper 'Tackling non-compliance in the umbrella company market, the government announced that the...

As to tax controversy and dispute resolution, this Budget presents a mixed picture.Changes in existing regimes often cause uncertainty and confusion, particularly if there is a gap between the enactment of legislation and HMRC Guidance being...

The first Budget of a new government is always a big moment, a chance to set out a new direction. Rachel Reeves did just that at her first fiscal event, embarking on an economic and political gamble that what Britain wants and needs is a much larger...

Of all the announcements in the October Budget, one, a consultation on simplifying the taxation of offshore interest, may not receive much attention but could pave the way the way for a more fundamental shift in how the UK tax system works.The...

Examining HMRC’s updated guidance.