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Budget likely to 'exploit smallprint'

28 February 2008
Categories: News , Capital Gains , Inheritance Tax , Residence & domicile
There will be no major giveaways, Grant Thornton forecasts

Next month's Budget will see the Chancellor opting for measures to help put the UK economy back on track, business and financial adviser Grant Thornton has claimed.

But the company has also predicted that Alistair Darling can be expected to fund any tax cuts with tax rises 'hidden in the small print elsewhere'.

Francesca Lagerberg, head of Grant Thornton's national tax office, said: 'The Chancellor… will look to offer some treats to the UK individual, but there will be no major giveaways as he will be looking to steady the ship and for additional revenue to stabilise the public finances. 

'Current Treasury projections indicate public borrowing in the current financial year of £38bn, [but] most economists expect this figure to be exceeded.'

The Treasury must iron out creases in hastily announced financial legislation, warned Grant Thornton. These include plans to charge non-domiciled residents an annual levy of £30,000.

'Although the Government agrees that the new rules may force employers that employ expatriate workers to relocate to more competitive regions, I don't believe they are aware of the full extent of the problem,' said Ms Lagerberg.

'We would like to see some clear indication in the Budget - and ideally before - that there is a clear understanding of the issues and a deferral of the more complex areas, which have been inadequately consulted upon.'

Francesca then addressed the 'equally controversial' overhaul of capital gains tax, saying 'the Government is likely to go quiet on this issue come Budget time'.

Although she added: 'The Conservatives have hinted that they would vote against the measure and that they would overturn the legislation if they came to power, so we haven't necessarily seen the last of changes in this area'.

HMRC have confirmed that from 6 April, the non-domiciled living in the UK for seven out of the past nine years will no longer be exempt from capital gains tax on assets held within an offshore trust.

Grant Thornton tax director Ian Miles said that the wealthy will still use trusts for long-term investing and estate planning, but he conceded that there is likely to be a focus on further eroding the tax position of trusts at the upcoming Budget.

Mr Miles's company then claimed that the Government's decision to push ahead with income shifting legislation will significantly affect small businesses' tax bills.

Francesca Lagerberg remarked: 'The main problem will be implementation. As the income shifting rules currently stand, they will place a high administrative burden on many businesses that are least able to cope.

'The breadth of the rules will also raise huge uncertainty as to whether you are caught or not.

'We strongly believe the rules, if pursued, must be better targeted and take into account the reality of family businesses where work loads are often shared in a different way to other enterprises.'

On the subject of inheritance tax, Grant Thornton claimed that the Chancellor cannot afford to make any generous changes to the threshold proposed last year.

But as a measure of goodwill he could look to modify the exemptions to include unmarried, non-civil partnership couples, or siblings who have lived together for a number of years.

Senior manager Maurice Fitzpatrick stated his belief that Mr Darling could look to introduce progressive taxation bands of possibly 10% or 20% on the bulk of assets of modest estates, and 40% on assets above an estimated level of £520,000.

Finally, Grant Thornton forecasted that tax savings made through the use of creation of personal capital losses are likely to be limited by the introduction of targeted anti-avoidance rules (TAAR) to create and use artificial capital losses to avoid tax.

Francesca Lagerberg added: 'We are expecting a raft of detailed technical changes in the Budget aimed at known tax schemes as HMRC seek to tighten the screw on those who undertake aggressive tax planning.

'Last year's announcement on sideways loss relief relating to partnerships - which affected those who participated in film partnerships and others - is just one example of how committed HMRC is to closing down known tax schemes.'

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