Tax matters: UK Spring Budget 2021

The UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak has delivered his second Budget in extraordinary circumstances as the UK continues to deal with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic while also establishing itself outside the EU following the end of the Brexit transition period.

This Budget comes at a time when there are calls for both further economic support measures and a clear fiscal plan to repair the significant deficit in public finances. How has the Chancellor dealt with these competing demands and what tax measures have been announced that businesses need to be aware of?

In this podcast, Josh Critchlow interviews three of our Partners in the London Tax team, Helen Buchanan, Paul Davison and May Smith, on the business tax measures they found the most noteworthy in the Spring Budget 2021, including:

• an increase in the UK’s headline corporation tax rate from 19% to 25% in April 2023;
• the new 130% “super-deduction” aimed at encouraging investment;
• a temporary extension to the carry back rules for trading losses;
• a consultation reviewing the UK’s R&D relief regimes;
• the repeal of the UK’s domestic provisions implementing the EU Interest and Royalties Directive;
• the introduction of reporting rules for digital platforms based on OECD recommendations; and
• reflections on what was missing.