Sophie Dworetzsky and Julia Cox quoted on the Chancellor's Spring Statement

Following the Chancellor's Spring Statement on Wednesday 23 March, Sophie Dworetzsky and Julia Cox commented on the Chancellor's Spring Statement.

eprivateclient quoted Sophie Dworetzsky's view: "It’s hard not to welcome a cut in the basic rate, but where is the money to be made up from? There has been no indication of CGT or upper rate increases, so might we expect to see more reliefs, such as Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR), be removed in due course?"

Julia Cox continued: "This Spring Statement proceeded largely as expected for the private wealth industry. It was silent on announcements of any changes to the rules, thresholds and/or reliefs of capital gains tax and inheritance tax, following reviews and consultations which had taken place in 2020 and after speculation of potential changes last spring and autumn.

"The Statement has therefore provided further confirmation that individuals can continue to benefit from relatively favourable tax regimes with an increased level of certainty, creating a golden opportunity for longer-term tax and estate planning.

"Though, it would be wise not to rule out such changes to capital gains taxes in the near future, in case they are targeted as a means of adding to government funds. For instance, if inflation continues to rise, there may be changes to the thresholds for inheritance tax (or reliefs), given the increasing number of families paying this unpopular tax. The various reliefs (such as business property relief / agricultural property relief on inheritance tax) may also be targeted to be limited in scope or abolished altogether (as was the case with entrepreneurs’ relief in March 2020, so it would be wise to undertake some planning now to capture them whilst they still exist."