Advance notice

Last week the Treasury issued draft clauses for the forthcoming Finance Bill (to be published after the Autumn Budget later this year). These will set the scene for tax matters 2019-20 and beyond.

The aim of the advance notice is to give interested parties a chance to comment on the contents before government starts the formal process of processing the legislation through Parliament.

The draft clauses include numerous technical changes to legislation that are outside the scope of this article, but a cross-section of the more “interesting” disclosures are set out below:

• Technical changes to various benefit arrangements for cars and vans.
• Exemption from benefit charges if employees provide free vehicle-battery charging facilities for employees at work.
• HMRC are to remove requirement for employers to check receipts for subsistence claims by employees using approved HMRC rates.
• Employees will be able to nominate beneficiaries outside their close family members to receive their death in service benefits.
• Non-UK resident property businesses will be subject to UK corporation tax and not income tax as at present.
• The rent-a-room relief is to be amended to include a non-exclusive residence clause. This will mean that to continue to qualify for the £7,500 tax-free allowance, persons letting a room in their home will have to be in residence when they let.

Bear in mind that these are suggested clauses and are subject to change before the formal Finance Bill is published later this year.