The 2017 Spring Budget was announced by the Chancellor Phillip Hammond and except for the self-employed, the changes were seen to be fairly uneventful from an employment law perspective.
Here is a summary of the key announcements:
- Personal allowance will rise by £500 to £11,500, thus the amount an individual can earn tax free will increase.
- The tax-free dividend allowance will be reduced to £2000 from £5000 from April 2018. This measure aims to “remove the incentive for a self-employed person to incorporate and pay themselves a dividend rather than a salary in order to reduce their employment tax liability.”
- £5 million will be used to promote “returnships” helping people back into employment after a career break. The Prime Minister confirmed that the majority of such schemes would benefit women returning to work after a career break.
- Consultations and calls for evidence will be launched (on 20 March) on the taxation of benefits in kind, accommodation benefits and employee expenses.