Announcements on sugar tax and disability benefits may have drawn the headlines, but there was certainly plenty in the March 2016 budget to make individuals and businesses reappraise their tax planning for the years ahead.
For effective planning the ‘devil is in the detail’ and as with any budget some of the detail is still to be thrashed out via consultations and negotiations with interested parties.
However, whether you are an individual, a small business or a multinational corporation you may well be advised to check that your accounting, finance and tax planning are still on track given the proposed budget changes.
For example, individuals may have a year to consider the potential effects of the new lifetime ISA, but whether they would be better off in moving some of their funds into this investment vehicle or continuing with their pension or ordinary ISA contributions will depend very much upon an individual’s circumstances.
At the other end of the scale, international corporations will have to consider carefully the implications of the proposed transfer pricing legislation and tax restrictions on offsetting losses.
The lesson from this budget, as with all previous budgets, is that tax planning and budgeting is ever-changing. Individuals and businesses alike cannot afford to simply carry on from year to year with unchanged systems and processes and approaches. As we said in our last blog post, tax need not be taxing, but in order to be effective, tax planning does require regular reviews.
If you would like to speak to a tax adviser about the implications of the latest Budget in respect of your tax position, please contact Newshams Tax Advisers on 0800 211 8657 or email us at enquiries@newshams.com.
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