Spring Budget 2024 [Source: HM Revenue & Customs, Spring Budget 2024, 06/03/2024]

• National Insurance contributions (NICs) – the government has announced a reduction to the main rate of Class 1 employee NICs from 10% to 8% from‌‌‌ ‌‌6‌‌‌ ‌‌April 2024, and a further 2p reduction to the main rate of Class 4 self-employed NICs from 8% to 6% from 6‌‌‌ April‌‌‌ 2024. Alongside these cuts, the government announced that it will consult on Class 2 NICs abolition later this year.

• Tax rules for non-UK domiciled individuals – from‌‌‌ 6‌‌‌‌‌‌ April‌‌‌ 2025, the current remittance basis of taxation will be abolished for UK resident non-domiciled individuals replacing it with a residence-based regime. Under the new regime, anyone who has been tax resident in the UK for more than four years will pay UK tax on their foreign income and gains, regardless of their domicile status, with a four-year relief for new arrivals (provided they have been non-tax resident for the last ten years). This will ensure that all UK residents who stay in the UK for over four years will pay the same tax on their FIGs, regardless of their domicile status.

• High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) – the government has announced it will raise the HICBC income threshold from £50,000 to £60,000 from 6‌‌‌ April‌‌‌ 2024, and the taper will be extended up to £80,000.

• Capital Gains Tax (CGT) – the government has announced to reduce the higher CGT rate for residential property disposals that take place on or after 6‌‌‌ April 2024, from 28% to 24%. The lower rate of 18% will remain unchanged.

• Abolition of Furnished Holiday Lettings (FHL) tax regime – the government will repeal the current rules for FHL for individuals and corporates from April 2025, and will publish draft legislation in due course.

• New UK Individual Saving Account (ISA) – the government has announced that it intends to introduce a UK ISA with a new £5,000 allowance, in addition to the existing ISA allowance, and has launched a consultation on its design and implementation.

• New permanent rates of relief (40% and 45%) for theatre, orchestra and museums and galleries exhibition tax, and additional support for independent film through a new UK Independent Film Tax Credit at a rate of 53% for films with budgets under £15 million that meet the conditions of a new British Film Institute test. In addition, the government is providing a 5% increase in tax relief for UK visual effects costs in film and high-end TV, under the Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit (AVEC)

HMRC will establish an expert advisory panel to support the administration of research and development (R&D) tax reliefs.

• Value Added Tax (VAT) – the government has announced a number of VAT related measures, including the VAT registration threshold that will increase from £ 85,000 to £90,000 from 1‌‌‌ April‌‌‌ 2024, and the level at which a business can apply for de-registration will increase from £83,000 up to £88,000. The government will consult in April 2024 on the VAT implications for the private hire vehicle sector.

• Vaping Duty and Tobacco Duty – the government will introduce a new duty on vaping products, accompanied by a one-off increase in tobacco duty, from October 2026, and has launched a consultation on the detailed design and implementation of the duty, which will close on 29‌‌‌ ‌‌May 2024.

• Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) – a range of SDLT measures have been announced, including:

1. 1. First Time Buyers’ Relief will be extended to individuals who use nominee and bare trust arrangements when buying a new lease over a dwelling that they intend to use as their main or only residence.
   2. abolition of Multiple Dwellings Relief from 1 June 2024, a bulk purchase relief within the SDLT regime in England and Northern Ireland available on the purchase of two or more dwellings. The government will engage with the agricultural industry to determine if there are any particular impacts for the sector that should be considered further.

• Cryptoasset Reporting Framework (CARF) – the government has launched a consultation on the UK implementation of the OECD Cryptoasset Reporting Framework and amendments to the Common Reporting Standard, seeking views on extension to domestic reporting.