With the Chancellor set to announce the 2013 Budget on 20 March,
Debbie Griffiths, tax partner, provides her
forecasts on what's likely to be included for SMEs:
It is widely expected the Chancellor will propose tightening the
rules surrounding the use of limited liability partnerships (LLPs),
which some unincorporated SMEs may adopt. This was trailed in the
Autumn Statement last year and is anticipated to concentrate upon
the use of LLPs in tax avoidance. The key areas of focus may be
where LLPs are used to disguise employee relationships, and,
subsequently, result in an employer's National Insurance
Contribution saving. There may also be further anti-avoidance
rules. The main concern here would be if such rules inadvertently
caught genuine commercial LLP structures used by SMEs. While it is
unclear what will be announced, this is one to watch out for, since
it could mean material changes in the tax treatment of LLPs in the
future. There is a view that legislation may
