Draft tax legislation published in Finance Bill 2014
Government publishes draft tax legislation to implement Budget and Autumn Statement 2013 policies.
Today the government has published draft tax legislation which will implement policies published at Budget 2013 and Autumn Statement 2013. The government has also published responses to related policy consultations which took place over the summer.
Finance Bill 2014 will contain key measures to make the UK more competitive for businesses, including:
- a new onshore oil and gas tax relief, which will support investment in the UK’s emerging onshore shale gas industry by applying a halved rate of tax to initial profits from projects
- changes that will make the government’s long-standing film tax relief more attractive and easier to use
- abolishing stamp duty and stamp duty reserve tax on growth market shares
It also contains measures to support hardworking families with the cost of living, including:
- increasing the personal allowance to £10,000 for 2014/15, making a typical basic rate taxpayer £112 better off and taking 260,000 low earners out of income tax altogether
- a new transferable tax allowance for married couples and civil partners that will benefit around 4.1 million couples in 2015
The Bill will also legislate for next steps in the government’s drive to tackle tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning.
David Gauke, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, said:
The government is committed to making the UK more competitive for business, supporting hardworking families with the cost of living and cracking down on aggressive tax avoidance.
The package of measures in the legislation published today delivers action that builds on our efforts to create a tax system that supports growth and fairness. And by consulting on the draft legislation in this way we are delivering on our promise to make the system more certain and stable for taxpayers and businesses.
For the fourth year in a row, draft legislation has been published as part of the government’s commitment to a more transparent, efficient and simpler tax system. The consultation on draft legislation will run until 4 February 2014, with final details being confirmed in Budget 2014, and finally introduced in Finance Bill 2014.