New rules on corporate loss relief

KEY POINTS

• The planned changes from 1 April 2017 will increase a company’s flexibility to set off losses in future accounting periods.
• Restrictions will apply on the carry-forward of group losses.
• Companies or groups with profits above £5m suffer restrictions.
• Uncertainty over future tax changes does not help business.

It is almost 230 years since Benjamin Franklin wrote that there were only two certainties in this world. What Alexander Fleming’s petri dish and the creation of the National Health Service did to delay and change the methods if not the certainty of the first Theresa May’s walk in Snowdonia did for the second.

It may also seem like another era but it is only seven months since Philip Hammond proudly announced that he would need only one Budget speech...