Skip to main content

Cookies

We use cookies to help provide a better website experience for you, as well as to understand how people use our website and to provide relevant advertising.

By clicking "I agree", you'll be letting us use cookies to improve your website experience. To find out more or to change your cookie preferences, click "Manage Cookies".

We value your privacy

Like many other websites, our website uses cookies. Cookies are small files placed on your computer when you visit our site. They serve a number of purposes, including ensuring that certain parts of the website work properly, allowing us to understand which areas of our website are the most popular and allowing us to provide more relevant advertising messages. They don't allow us to identify you specifically and no personal data is gathered about you.

If you'd prefer that cookies weren't placed on your computer when you visit our site, you can use the controls below to allow or disallow different types of cookie. Some cookies are essential for the website to work, so they can't be disallowed.

  • These cookies give us anonymised information on how people use our website. We use these cookies to help us tailor our site to meet the needs of our visitors, for example by making sure our most popular pages are easy to find.

  • These cookies serve a number of purposes, such as allowing you to share our content with your friends and social networks. We also use these cookies to provide targeted advertising, so you may see relevant adverts based on the pages you look at on our website.

  • About
  • News & Insights
  • Careers
  • International
  • ESG
0370 1500 100
Dialog that contains search functionality
Irwin Mitchell Logo
  • Personal
    • Personal
    • Personal Home
    • Personal Injury Claims
      • Personal Injury Claims
      • Personal Injury Claims Home
      • Abuse & Criminal Injury Claims
      • Accidents In Public Places Claims
      • Accident At Work Claims
      • Air, Rail & Maritime Claims
      • Asbestos & Mesothelioma Claims
      • Changing Solicitors During a Personal Injury Claim
      • Group Claims
      • Holiday Accidents & Illness Claims
      • Illness Compensation Claims
      • Industrial Disease Claims
      • Injury Types
      • Military Injury Compensation Claims
      • No Win No Fee Personal Injury Claims
      • Personal Injury Claims In Scotland
      • Personal Injury Information
      • How To Claim Compensation For Personal Injury
      • Product Liability Claims
      • Rehabilitation & Medical Care
      • Road Traffic Accident Claims
      • Serious Injury Claims
      • Who Can Help?
      • Support Services
    • Medical Negligence Claims
      • Medical Negligence Claims
      • Medical Negligence Claims Home
      • Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims
      • Birth Injury Claims
      • Cauda Equina Syndrome Claims
      • Cosmetic Surgery Claims
      • Cerebral Palsy Claims
      • Defective Medical Device Claims
      • Dental Negligence Claims
      • Diabetes Claims
      • Fatal Medical Negligence Claims & Inquests
      • GP Negligence Claims
      • Hospital Negligence Claims
      • What Is Medical Negligence?
      • Meningitis Misdiagnosis Claims
      • Failure To Prevent Suicide Claims
      • Misdiagnosis Claims
      • Ophthalmic Negligence Claims
      • Pregnancy & Gynaecology Injury Claims
      • Sepsis Negligence Claims
      • Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital NHS Trust Maternity Care Claims
      • Stroke Misdiagnosis Claims
      • Surgery Compensation Claims
    • Family Law
      • Family Law
      • Family Law Home
      • Divorce Solicitors
      • Prenuptial & Postnuptial Agreement Solicitors
      • Child Abduction Solicitors
      • Civil Partnership Solicitors
      • LGBT+ Family Law Solicitors
      • Unmarried Couples' Rights
      • Divorce Financial Settlement Solicitors
      • Child Arrangement Orders
      • Family Mediation Lawyers
      • Out Of Court Divorce Solicitors
      • Separation Agreement Solicitors
      • Adoption & Surrogacy Solicitors
      • Counselling
    • Wills, Trusts & Estates
      • Wills, Trusts & Estates
      • Wills, Trusts & Estates Home
      • Estate Planning Solicitors
      • Powers Of Attorney
      • Trusts
      • Will Writing Services
      • Will Disputes & Contentious Probate
    • Conveyancing & Property Solicitors
      • Conveyancing & Property Solicitors
      • Conveyancing & Property Solicitors Home
      • Conveyancing Fees Calculator
      • Buying A Property
      • Selling A Property
      • Remortgage
      • Transfer Of Equity
      • Buy To Let
      • Absentee Landlord & Freeholder Tracing Service
      • Freehold Purchase (Leasehold Enfranchisement) Solicitors
      • Lease Extension Solicitors
      • Conveyancing Guide
      • Our Prices - Residential Conveyancing for properties valued above £500,000
    • Tax
      • Tax
      • Tax Home
      • Business Tax
      • Inheritance Tax
      • International Tax
      • Professional Negligence
      • HMRC Tax Investigations
      • Tax Disputes & Litigation
      • Tax Residence
      • Tax Returns & Compliance
      • Wealth Structuring
    • Probate
      • Probate
      • Probate Home
      • International Probate
      • Probate Sale Conveyancing
      • What Is Probate & How Does It Work?
    • Will, Trust & Estate Disputes
      • Will, Trust & Estate Disputes
      • Will, Trust & Estate Disputes Home
      • Trust Disputes
      • Inheritance Act Claims
      • Contesting A Will
      • Contentious Probate
      • Pre-Death Agreements
      • Professional Negligence
      • Challenging A Lifetime Gift
      • Financial Abuse
      • Statutory Will Disputes
      • Defending A Contested Will
    • Employment Solicitors
      • Employment Solicitors
      • Employment Solicitors Home
      • Employment Contract Solicitors
      • Employment Disputes
      • Dismissal & Redundancy Solicitors
      • Employment Discrimination Solicitors
      • Employment Lawyers for Legal Expenses Insurance
      • Harassment & Bullying At Work Solicitors
      • Parental & Family Friendly Employment Rights
      • Professional Discipline Solicitors
      • Recruitment & Promotion
      • Senior Executive Employment Lawyers
      • Settlement Agreements
      • Whistleblowing Solicitors
    • Elderly Legal Services
    • Protecting Your Rights
      • Protecting Your Rights
      • Protecting Your Rights Home
      • Actions Against The Police
      • Environmental & Planning Law
      • Assessment & Treatment Unit Solicitors
      • Data Protection Breach Claims
      • Education Law
      • Healthcare & Social Services
      • Human Rights
      • Judicial Review
      • Mental Capacity
      • Motoring Offences Legal Advice
      • Professional Regulation & Discipline
      • Dispute Resolution
      • Legal Aid
    • Immigration Solicitors
      • Immigration Solicitors
      • Immigration Solicitors Home
      • British Citizenship & Naturalisation Solicitors
      • EU & EEA Immigration Solicitors
      • Indefinite Leave To Remain Solicitors
      • Spouse Visa Solicitors
      • Innovator Visa
      • Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa
      • Permanent Residence Solicitors
      • Tier 1 Investor Visa
      • Business Immigration Solicitors
    • Crime & Investigations
      • Crime & Investigations
      • Crime & Investigations Home
      • Crime
      • Fraud & Financial Crime
      • Court Martial Solicitors
      • Motoring Offences Legal Advice
      • Regulatory Investigations & Enforcement
    • Insolvency
      • Insolvency
      • Insolvency Home
      • Business Restructuring & Insolvency
      • Debt Consultancy
      • Insolvency Disputes & Litigation
    • Court Of Protection
      • Court Of Protection
      • Court Of Protection Home
      • Court Of Protection Deputyship
      • Personal Injury Trusts
      • Court Of Protection Problems & Disputes
      • Healthcare and Social Services
      • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Powers Of Attorney
      • Powers Of Attorney Disputes
      • Statutory Wills And Trusts
    • Agriculture & Rural Business
    • Landed Estates
    • Family Offices
  • Wealth Management
    • Wealth Management
    • Wealth Management Home
    • Asset Management For Personal Injury
    • Charity & Philanthropy
    • Estate Planning
    • Ethical & Sustainable Investing
    • Financial Planning
    • Intergenerational Wealth Management
    • Investment Management
    • Retirement Financial Planning
    • Succession Planning
    • Tax Planning
  • Business
    • Business
    • Business Home
    • Sectors
      • Sectors
      • Sectors Home
      • Agriculture & Rural Business
      • Consumer & Retail
      • Education
      • Financial & Professional Services
      • Landed Estates
      • Manufacturing
      • Media & Entertainment
      • Real Estate
      • Sport
      • Technology & Communications
    • Banking & Finance
      • Banking & Finance
      • Banking & Finance Home
      • Corporate Banking
      • Funds
      • Leveraged & Acquisition Finance
      • Real Estate Finance
      • Receivables Finance & Asset Based Lending
    • Business Crime
      • Business Crime
      • Business Crime Home
      • Anti-Bribery & Corruption
      • Asset Tracing & Recovery
      • Cartels & Illegal Price Fixing
      • Cybercrime
      • Dawn Raids
      • Deferred Prosecution Agreements
      • Extradition
      • INTERPOL Red Notices
      • Mutual Legal Assistance
      • Private Prosecution
      • Proceeds Of Crime Act
      • Unexplained Wealth Orders
      • Fraud Lawyers
      • Insider Trading & Market Abuse
      • Corporate Internal Investigations
    • Business Immigration
      • Business Immigration
      • Business Immigration Home
      • Business Visitor Visa
      • Innovator Visa
      • Prevention Of Illegal Working
      • Sole Representative Of An Overseas Business
      • Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa
      • Tier 1 Investor Visa
      • Tier 2 & 5 Sponsor Licence
      • Tier 2 Visa
      • Tier 4 Sponsor Licence
    • Commercial
      • Commercial
      • Commercial Home
      • Commercial Contracts
      • Competition Law
      • GDPR & Data Protection
      • Information Technology
      • Media & Entertainment
      • Sourcing
      • Licensing
      • Notary Public Solicitors
    • Commercial Litigation & Dispute Resolution
      • Commercial Litigation & Dispute Resolution
      • Commercial Litigation & Dispute Resolution Home
      • Banking & Finance Litigation
      • Business Interruption Insurance Lawyers
      • Contract Disputes
      • Commercial Judicial Review
      • Defamation & Reputation Management
      • International & Cross-Border Disputes
      • Litigation Funding
      • Our Prices - Commercial Debt Recovery
      • Professional Negligence
    • Corporate
      • Corporate
      • Corporate Home
      • Corporate Advisory
      • Equity Capital Markets
      • Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)
      • Private Equity
    • Costs Team
    • Environmental, Social & Governance
      • Environmental, Social & Governance
      • Environmental, Social & Governance Home
      • Environment
      • Social
      • Governance
      • International
      • ESG Legal Advisory Services
      • Cyber Security
      • Diversity & Inclusion
      • Legislation Library
      • ESG Media Library
      • Sports Sector
      • Manufacturing Sector
      • Real Estate Sector
      • Consumer & Retail Sector
    • Employment Law
      • Employment Law
      • Employment Law Home
      • Business Immigration
      • Employment Contracts, Policies & Procedures
      • Disciplinary & Grievance
      • Employee & Industrial Relations
      • Employment Lawyers for Legal Expenses Insurance
      • Employment Litigation & Dispute Resolution
      • Equality, Diversity & Discrimination
      • Flexible Working Arrangements
      • Health & Safety
      • HR Advice Service - IMhrplus
      • Managing Sickness Absence
      • Pensions
      • Recruitment
      • Restrictive Covenants
      • Restructuring & Redundancy
      • Self Employment, Contractors & Agency Workers
      • Employment Seminars, Training & Updates
      • TUPE
    • In-House Counsel
    • Intellectual Property
      • Intellectual Property
      • Intellectual Property Home
      • Defamation & Reputation Management
      • Copyright Lawyers
      • Design Rights Lawyers
      • Image Rights Lawyers
      • IP Audits
      • Online Marketplace Seller Account Or Listing Suspensions
      • Stopping IP Infringement By Sellers On Online Marketplaces
      • Patent Lawyers
      • Trade Mark Lawyers
      • Trade Secrets Lawyers
    • Legal Helpline
    • Pensions
      • Pensions
      • Pensions Home
      • Employment
      • Managing Death Benefit Trusts
    • Regulatory & Compliance
      • Regulatory & Compliance
      • Regulatory & Compliance Home
      • Road Transport & Operator Compliance
      • GDPR & Data Protection
      • Regulatory Investigations
      • Environment & Safety Regulatory Compliance
      • Financial Services Regulation
    • Real Estate
      • Real Estate
      • Real Estate Home
      • Corporate Occupiers
      • Real Estate Development and Regeneration
      • Construction & Engineering
      • Environmental
      • Real Estate Finance
      • Real Estate Investment
      • Later Living & Care
      • Planning
      • Property Litigation & Real Estate Disputes
      • Real Estate Tax
      • Residential Development
      • Strategic Land
      • Structured Real Estate
    • Restructuring & Insolvency
      • Restructuring & Insolvency
      • Restructuring & Insolvency Home
      • Corporate Insolvency
      • Partnership Insolvency
      • Directors' Duties
      • Restructuring Plans
      • Restructuring
    • Tax
      • Tax
      • Tax Home
      • Corporate Tax
      • Real Estate Tax
      • Tax Investigations
  • People
    • People
    • People Home
    • Search By Name
    • Search By Location
    • Search By Expertise
    • Business Management
  • Offices
    • Offices
    • Offices Home
    • Birmingham
    • Bristol
    • Cambridge
    • Cardiff
    • Chichester
    • Gatwick
    • Glasgow
    • Leeds
    • Liverpool
    • London
    • Manchester
    • Middlesbrough
    • Newbury
    • Newcastle
    • Reading
    • Sheffield
    • Southampton
  • Contact
  • About
  • News & Insights
  • Careers
  • International
  • ESG
Irwin Mitchell Logo
Dialog with Irwin Mitchell phone number
Call us on 0370 1500 100

We're here 24/7, 365 days a year.

man in a coffee shop using a mobile phone and a laptop
  • Home
  • News & Insights
  • News
  • Autumn Statement 2016

Autumn Statement 2016

23.11.2016

Legal Experts Unpick What Chancellor’s Key Announcements Mean For You And Your Business

The Chancellor Philip Hammond has made a raft of measures, from boosting infrastructure and innovation to increasing housebuilding, in his first Autumn Statement.

Legal experts at national law firm Irwin Mitchell were watching closely as the Statement, the Government’s first major economic statement since the Brexit vote, was delivered in the House of Commons. 

The team, based in the firm’s offices across the UK, have analysed the legal implications of the announcements and have commented on what they mean for individuals, families and businesses

For a more in-depth legal analysis you can register for our Autumn Statement webinar, which takes place at 12pm on 29th November.

The webinar will feature Irwin Mitchell Private Wealth experts, Alex Ruffel, Richard Jordan, Conor Brindley and Andrew Watters and can be streamed live to both UK and international jurisdictions.

The Chancellor  announced  a £2.3 billion investment in a housing infrastructure fund to help provide 100,000 new homes in high-demand areas and in addition a spend of £1.4billion to deliver 40,000 extra affordable homes.  Carl Dyer, Head of Planning at Irwin Mitchell, questioned if the measures would provide enough and at the right end of the market.

Expert Opinion

"Once again we see a Chancellor targeting the wrong end of the housing market, and promising to spend a lot of money to little purpose.

The government set a target of building 1 million new homes over the five years of this Parliament. A present rate of construction, they will be at least 300,000 homes short of the target.

Even if this cash injection delivered an extra 140,000 homes, it would not bridge the shortfall from the target the government is already missing.

More likely, measures such as cash for homes etc. will simply further bid up the price of the existing inadequate supply, so much of Mr Hammond's funding will simply transfer money from the taxpayer to the house builders, with little additional housing to show for it.

Disappointingly, there was no mention at all of retirement housing. Mr Hammond could have had a far greater effect on supply of housing if he had incentivised the construction of retirement living and care homes. If just half of the elderly people who say they want to downsize their property were to do so, that would release 3,500,000 homes onto the market. That is something like five Parliaments' supply at current rates of construction.

The land take for such a construction program will be far less than needed for a comparable supply of ordinary housing and much of it could be on brownfield site instead of on the Greenfields that NIMBYs hold so dear." Carl Dyer - Partner

Carl also welcomed today’s announcement of a £23bn national productivity investment fund over five years. 

He praised the announcement of the £1.1bn investment in improving English local transport networks, £200m for traffic pinch-points, £450m for digital signalling on trains and £390m for low-emissions vehicles.

He said that Hammond seems to be addressing productivity problems by trying to alleviate workers and businesses hampered by poor transport.  The 100% business rate relief on new fibre infrastructure and £1bn for broadband was also applauded showing that the Government is prioritising infrastructure aimed at improving business output. 

Expert Opinion

"Improving local roads, with a particular emphasis on relieving congestion, is to be welcomed. It will also provide a faster boost to the economy than the "big ticket" infrastructure schemes to which this government already looks addicted. Money going towards ‘hyper-fast’ broadband is also what we need.

Smaller specific schemes can be implemented relatively quickly. Being short, quick, and relatively certain, they also considerably more likely to be delivered on time and reasonably close to budget – in stark contrast to all the major infrastructure schemes delivered over the last couple of decades. I am delighted no further white elephants have been announced today." Carl Dyer - Partner

 
 
 
 
 
 

Partner and pensions expert, Penny Cogher, said that the Chancellor could have used the Autumn Statement to clarify tax charges on withdrawals.

Expert Opinion

“Phew - no great pension changes the 2017 Autumn Statement. Pension contributions can still benefit from salary sacrifice. Pensioners should be keen to invest in the new bond with an interest rate of 2.2%- however it is only a safe haven for £3000. HMRC are obviously concerned about the better off being able to recycle their drawdown pension monies. Consultation is to begin for the annual allowance for those in money purchase drawdown to be reduced to £4000, which seems reasonable.

However this Statement, while helpful in terms of clamping down on pension scams, is a missed opportunity for an easy win for pension simplification. Many pension savers are aware when they withdraw pension monies that there is potentially an income tax charge at the individual's marginal rate of tax. But how many people actually understand what this means? It's not their lowest rate of income tax but their highest. A change in name would be an easy way of highlighting more clearly to people the potential tax charge they face. It would make people pause before they withdraw and it would result in no extra cost to the Revenue apart from updating their information. The legislation itself would not need to change.” Penny Cogher - Partner

 

Penny also discussed the tax treatment of foreign pensions, and added that the 2017 Autumn Statement recognises some of the questions which the legitimate QROPS providers have grappled with since the April 2015 freedoms were introduced.

This includes how to determine what slices of pension monies should be used for the payment that would be a  pension commencement  lump sum if it were paid from a UK registered pension scheme. For this, 25% can be paid tax free but the question has been 25% of what?

The full value of the member’s fund on the member’s commencement date? How are investment losses and gains that have arisen to be treated while the monies have been in the overseas pension scheme?

How do the crystallisation events interact when there has already been one crystallisation event (BCE8) on the member transferring their UK registered pension savings to the overseas pension scheme? What happens in pension tax terms if additional pension contributions are paid to the overseas pension. What happens if the member returns to the UK and brings their pension monies back into the scope of all UK taxation?

The pension legislation is extremely complex and seems to leave some gaps and the pension tax manual gives very limited answers these types of questions.  Legitimate QROPS have been concerned that if they get things wrong not only will their members suffer unexpected tax charges but also the QROPS providers face a real risk of losing their valuable QROPS status and have been asking HMRC for clarification.

Expert Opinion

The tax treatment of foreign pensions will be more closely aligned with the UK’s domestic pension tax regime by bringing foreign pensions and lump sums fully into tax for UK residents, to the same extent as domestic ones. The government will also close specialist pension schemes for those employed abroad (“section 615” schemes) to new saving, extend from 5 to 10 years the taxing rights over recently emigrated non-UK residents’ foreign lump sum payments from funds that have had UK tax relief, align the tax treatment of funds transferred between registered pension schemes, and update the eligibility criteria for foreign schemes to qualify as overseas pensions schemes for tax purposes.

The approach set out in the Autumn Statement does seem to be one of simplification for QROPS i.e. the QROPS providers will be expected to more fully follow the UK tax treatment so there should be an overall streamlining of tax treatment. This may also make QROPS less attractive pension vehicles for everyone apart from those who are genuinely moving or retiring abroad.

The last piece of the jigsaw however will be that the overseas jurisdictions have to update their pension and tax laws to reflect these new UK QROPS requirements to ensure QROPS eligibility. Given this, there will be a period of some further uncertainty while the UK legislation is updated and then the overseas legislation is also updated by the various countries who still want to offer QROPS.
Penny Cogher - Partner

 

 

Chris Rawstron, Partner and Head of Business Legal Services at Irwin Mitchell in Birmingham, praised the Chancellor for taking steps to bridge the productivity gap between London and Birmingham.

 

Expert Opinion

“It is encouraging to hear that the Midlands Engine is firmly on the Government’s agenda. A second devolution deal and a soon to be published Midlands Engine strategy demonstrates that the significant production gap between London and Birmingham is recognised by the Chancellor and that action is required.

A £5m investment into the Midlands Rail Hub is a good start and will go a long way towards reducing congestion across the region and helping to boost productivity.” Chris Rawstron - Partner

Roy Beckett, Regional Managing Partner for Irwin Mitchell in Manchester, said the Government’s reaffirmation of its support of the Northern Powerhouse plans were a promising sign for reducing the productivity divide between London and the North.

Expert Opinion

“This Autumn Statement appeared to prioritise infrastructure spending and increasing productivity and it was encouraging to hear that the government reaffirm its intention to support the Northern Powerhouse and other schemes aimed at rebalancing the economy.

“Businesses generally support investment in improving local transport infrastructure over large national schemes such as HS2 so we therefore welcome the announcement that there will be more investment in this region. We eagerly await further details over the coming weeks, particularly as serious investment in helping to reduce traffic congestion and increase access to a larger talent pool for thousands of businesses in the region are crucial and can have a big impact on boosting productivity.” Roy Beckett - Partner

Tax expert from Irwin Mitchell Private Wealth, Alex Ruffel, welcomed the Chancellor's announcement that this year's Autumn Statement would be the last one and that starting next year, the UK will have a Budget in the autumn, with a Spring Statement to be issued from 2018, replacing the March Budget.

Expert Opinion

The way we make new tax laws is all changing – for the better. Moving to an Autumn Budget is a welcome change announced by the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, in the final Autumn Statement on 23 November. It means Parliament can properly scrutinise new tax legislation before the next tax year in April, when new law typically takes effect.

We need to avoid complex tax provisions coming into effect long before their final form is known, as happened last April with the new 3% higher SDLT charge for owners of second properties. Taxpayers are subject to laws and charges that have not yet been formulated, an impossible and unfair position for taxpayers and their advisers (and presumably HMRC).

We will still sometimes need complex draft legislation to be published further in advance to allow for consultation with professional bodies and iron out problems with technical detail.

This applies particularly to changes such as the revolution in non-dom taxation that will take effect next April, where we have seen only some draft legislation and await more with the draft Finance Bill clauses due on 5 December.

That leaves just four months, including the hectic holiday period, for advisers to understand and guide clients on action needed. The Chancellor’s acknowledgement of advantages of a more logical timetable is a good start.

Alex Ruffel - Partner

Contact us today

To talk about your situation

Prefer not to call?

Use our form

This data will only be used by Irwin Mitchell for processing your query and for no other purpose.

Key Contact

Dave Grimshaw
Dave Grimshaw
Head of External Communications and PR - Senior Associate
0114 274 4397 0114 274 4397 Email Dave

Press Contact

Dave Grimshaw
Dave Grimshaw
Head of External Communications and PR - Senior Associate
0114 274 4397 0114 274 4397 Email Dave

Tags

Autumn Statement 2016Philip HammondinfrastructurePowerhouse
  • Contact
  • 0370 1500 100
  • Contact Irwin Mitchell
  • Social Media
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
  • About Irwin Mitchell
  • About Us
  • Social Responsibility
  • Careers
  • Business Management
  • Alumni Programme
  • SRA Regulated
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy & Security
  • Hoaxes
  • Modern Slavery Act Statement 2021
  • Manage Cookie Settings

© 2023  Irwin Mitchell LLP

Irwin Mitchell LLP is authorised & regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Our Regulatory Information

Dialog that contains a form to request a callback.

Request A Callback

Enter you details below and we'll call you back, at a time of your choice

1000 characters remaining

Preferred date*
Today
Tomorrow

This data will only be used by Irwin Mitchell for processing your query and for no other purpose.