On 8 March 2017, Chancellor Philip Hammond delivered his Spring Budget 2017 speech. Below is a round-up of the key announcements that have a bearing on employee benefits:
- The government’s tax-free childcare policy, which provides parents with children under the age of 12 up to £2,000 a year per child to help towards childcare costs, will be rolled out from April 2017. The government also re-confirmed that parents with children who are three and four years old will see their free childcare entitlement increase from 15 hours to 30 hours a week from September 2017.
- The government confirmed that the money purchase annual allowance (MPAA) will decrease from £10,000 to £4,000 from April 2017.
- The government will publish a call for evidence on the exemptions and valuation methodology for the income tax and employer national insurance contribution (NIC) treatment of benefits in kind.
- The government is to amend the tax registration process for master trust pension schemes to align with the Pensions Regulator’s (TPR) authorisation and supervision regime.
- The government will publish a call for evidence to better understand the use of income tax relief for employees’ expenses, including employees’ expenses that are not reimbursed by their employer.
- The government will consult on proposals to bring the tax treatment of employer-provided accommodation, board and lodgings up to date, considering when accommodation should be exempt from tax and when to support taxpayers during a transition.
- HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is actively monitoring the national insurance (NI) employment allowance compliance.
- The government will invest in developing, designing and manufacturing batteries to power the next generation of electric vehicles as part of a £270 million investment through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF).