Five Autumn Budget predictions
By Tom Carnegie, 20 Nov 17
With chancellor Philip Hammond poised to release the government’s Autumn Budget on Wednesday, International Adviser has spoken to experts from Old Mutual Wealth, RSM, Mazars, Irwin Mitchell Private Wealth and Aegon to get their budget predictions.
Keeping a steady ship
Rachael Griffin, financial planning expert for Old Mutual Wealth, says while the budget is a difficult one to call, she predicts the government’s weak position in power and the focus on Brexit may mean they won’t want to rock the boat.
“Given their reputation for delays and u-turns, and given it has taken so long for the Finance Bill to become enacted [expected to be implemented 1 December 2018] they may not have much appetite for major reform,” Griffin said.
“However, the chancellor, Phillip Hammond, will need to address the UK’s deficit, and will be under pressure to plug holes in his budget.”
Non-UK domiciles
Due to a recent focus on limiting tax advantages of non -UK domiciles living in the UK, Griffin says she does not expect to see further reforms in this area.
“It is unlikely we will see any further tightening in this area, and given the rules have not yet been enacted under the Finance Bill, we are yet to see what fall-out, if any, they will have,” she says.
Tax avoidance
Griffin says a more obvious area of focus for the budget will be tax avoidance and evasion.
The area has already seen countless reforms already and the sharing of client data with over 100 tax authorities across the globe under the Common Reporting Standards will be a game changer, Griffin said.
“Further reforms are likely to focus on the ‘legal’ tax avoidance schemes people are using to disguise their wealth through complex overseas structures.”
Qrops: little change expected
Griffin says advisers, particularly in Europe, may be wondering if yet more changes to Qrops are expected.
“Qrops have already seen significant reforms, addressing third country arrangements, so, given Britain’s pending exit from the EU, I can’t see further changes being made in this budget.
“Perhaps Hammond is more likely to focus on wider pension policy reform instead, such as reforming pension tax relief which now totals close to £54bn ($71.5bn, €60.9bn) a year,” Griffin said.
Tags: Aegon | Budget | Irwin Mitchell | Mazars | Old Mutual
