Other announcements

Tax administration

In accordance with UK international requirements changes are to be introduced that will affect financial institutions doing business in the UK. From 2016 financial institutions will be required to:

• identify accounts maintained for specified persons, that is, account holders who are tax resident in jurisdictions with which the UK has entered into an agreement to exchange information about a wide range of financial accounts and investments to help tackle tax evasion
• collect and report information in a specified manner on specified persons to HMRC.

Business rates

The government again affirmed their intention to conduct a review of business rates with a view to reporting by Budget 2016.

Tobacco anti-forestalling

Measures are to be introduced to tighten tobacco anti-forestalling rules and apply penalties for non-compliance, in order to prevent tax avoidance.

Simplified expenses

It is intended to amend the simplified expenses regime to ensure that a partnership can fully access the provisions in respect of the use of a home where business premises are also a home.

Carbon price floor

From 1 April 2015 fossil fuels that are used by combined heat and power plants to generate good quality electricity that is self-supplied or supplied under exemption from the requirement to hold a supplier licence will be excluded from the carbon price support rates.

There is to be no change to the carbon price support rate for 2017/18 which remains at £18/tCO₂.