Property tax expert on the Autumn Statement – what to expect

What to expect in the Autumn Statement

CAPITAL GAINS TAX – I would not be surprised to see significant changes to Capital Gains Tax – I had expected this in previous years – ranging from an alignment of tax rates with income tax to reducing the annual exempt amount. Such a change could be accompanied by discounts for longer term ownership (i.e. rates taper down the longer you own it) so as to encourage entrepreneurs.

CORPORATION TAX – Corporation Tax is unlikely to move given the rise to 25% is going ahead next April. There are likely to be anti-avoidance measures (i.e. closing of “loopholes”) and a broadening of the tax base. The government will need to take care that this does not slow down or stop investment; targeting this to specific industries would be one way to do it (and has been done before with housebuilders). An obvious area would be the Energy Profits Levy and online sales.

STAMP DUTY LAND TAX – Stamp Duty Land Tax is likely to see some attention, in particular the application of certain reliefs for purchases of multiple and mixed-use proeprties.

BUSINESS RATES – Business Rates support for a lot of retailers is currently ending in April 2023, when the new valuations will also come into force. Given that this will be in the midst of a recession, targeted support is likely.

STILL GOING FOR GROWTH? – It would be good to see some specific measures to encourage economic growth – enhanced capital allowances for capital expenditure, innvoation etc.

PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS – Given the scale of likely spending cuts, it would also be good to see measures encouraging the private sector to partner up with local government on projects that were until now part of the “Levelling Up” agenda (or even incentives to take over such projects)

STEALTH TAX – It is Jeremy Hunt’s budget but we have a PM who was previously Chancellor. I therefore think that a significant amount of tax will be raised through tax drag (so-called “stealth tax”) and deferring some of the tax rises for a year or two. This would enable the government to say the books are balanced but give some breathing space – after all, if the economy recovers quicker than forecast, or interest rates do not rise as expected, this will make a much bigger difference to some of the numbers.