New tax consultation timetable published today

Updated guidance on the new tax consultation timetable, published today (6 December 2017), will give businesses and tax professionals greater clarity by setting out how the consultation process will work when there is just one fiscal event each year – an Autumn Budget.

This new guidance sets out how the timetable will allow for more opportunities for the government to consult with stakeholders at early stages of policy making, including by launching consultations at the Spring Statement. The plans it sets out mean that businesses and tax professionals will have more time to consider and adapt to upcoming changes ahead of the tax year in which they will take effect. And they will give Parliament more time to scrutinise draft legislation ahead of the introduction of the Finance Bill.

Mel Stride, Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General said:

Open and collaborative consultation ensures any policy changes are well targeted and that the likely impacts are better understood. That is why we are giving taxpayers and professionals in the field more time to adapt to new rules and to give us their views on the design of tax policy.

In November 2016, Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond announced the move to a single Autumn Budget, which means businesses and individuals should face less frequent changes to the tax system.
This builds on the progress made on tax policy development since Tax Policy Making: A New Approach was published in 2010, which committed to creating a more predictable, stable and simple tax regime.