With Brexit delayed further and an upcoming general election which has led to postponement of the Budget, it is hard to predict what changes in the world of tax ahead.
Given this uncertainty, many may predict that the first Budget of the newly elected government may not bring about any big tax giveaways. During the leadership contest however, Boris did hint at an increase in the income higher rate threshold from £50,000 to £80,000 as well as a hike in the national insurance threshold.
This would mean a reduction in tax for many taxpayers paying just 20% on their income between £50,000 and £80,000 rather than 40%. It will be interesting to see what measures he comes up with to make up for this shortfall but it appears that his initial strategy may be to take advantage of, currently, low interest rates and increase borrowings.
Conversely, Jeremy Corbyn has suggested that he would look at increasing the income tax take by introducing a new 45% band for those earning over £80,000. Corbyn has also hinted at a significant increase to the corporation tax rate of up to 32% compared to the 17% rate due to come in from April next year.
Johnson has also suggested significantly reducing stamp duty land tax (SDLT) rates for residential property purchases funding this by increasing costs for investors and significant increases for high value commercial properties. He has also mooted shifting the SDLT liability from the buyer to seller. Corbyn has announced proposals for a reform of council tax increasing bills for those with larger homes and shifting the liability to landlords.
If Labour is successful in a snap general election, entrepreneurs may also see the withdrawal or restriction of tax reliefs. Currently, business owners pay half the standard rate of capital gains tax on disposals of business assets, but it is anticipated that this relief could be axed altogether.
The widely reported uncertainty as to the tax landscape following Brexit also remains with potential implications for customs duties, withholding taxes and employee mobility to name but a few.
The coming months will hopefully start to unravel some of that uncertainty and is likely to bring about interesting times for a tax adviser!