The Autumn Budget 2017

The Chancellor delivered his Autumn Budget today, setting out the Government's tax policy for the next fiscal period. Forewarned of a "balanced approach" in advance, there was little that surprised, other than in respect of the proposed CGT changes for non-residents investing in commercial property. However, a welcome announcement for first-time buyers was made, exempting stamp duty land tax on the first £300,000 of the purchase price, provided the price itself is under £500,000.

Otherwise, the Chancellor made very few substantive tax announcements in his Budget speech, the key points being published in the background papers. Even then, the number of definite changes were limited, with a raft of consultations announced but few confirmed proposals. He promised to face the tax challenge posed by the digital economy, proposing to impose UK income tax on multinational digital businesses where their royalties are paid to low tax jurisdictions from April 2019, as well as