Spring Statement 2018
13 March 2018
In the UK’s first Spring Statement the Chancellor provided an update on the UK economy, major tax or spending changes will now be made once a year at the Budget in the autumn.
The Spring Statement gives an update on the overall health of the economy and the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasts. It provides an update on progress made since Autumn Budget 2017 and also invites people and businesses to give views on changes the government is considering.
All information pertaining to the Spring Statement 2018 has been published on GOV.UK and includes further details about the following:
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The economy continues to grow, continues to create jobs and continues to beat expectations.
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The UK’s public finances have reached a turning point, with borrowing down and the first sustained fall in debt for 17 years.
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Over £1.5 billion allocated to departments and devolved administrations to prepare for Brexit in 2018-19
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An ambitious plan to tackle the UK’s housing challenge and build the homes the country needs
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Helping households with the cost of living: increases to personal allowance, introduction of National Living Wage.
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Helping businesses by bringing forward the next business rates revaluation to 2021.
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Improving transport in English cities.
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Improving the UK’s digital connectivity.
There are also four areas of new consultation, inviting views on future changes to the tax system:
Reducing single-use plastic waste through the tax system - the government is seeking views on how best to use the tax system to encourage the responsible use of plastic.
Making sure multinational digital businesses pay a fair share of tax - the government has set out its thinking on how the tax system can change to give a fair result for digital businesses.
The role of cash in the new economy - the government is seeking views on what more it can do to support people and businesses who use digital payments, ensure that those who need to are able to pay with cash and prevent the use of cash to evade tax and launder money.
Supporting people to get the skills they need - to support upskilling and retraining, the government is seeking views on extending the current tax relief to support self-employed people and employees when they fund their own training.