The briefest of Acts

The Finance Act rushed in before Parliament dissolved ready for the snap election was very, very short.

It had the bare minimum of information needed to keep tax running. By law, if Parliament closes with no Finance Act in place, all power to tax is lost.

There was nothing on Making Tax Digital. Many other pre-announced changes, eg to non-domicile status, were also omitted.

This does not mean that MTD is being abandoned! It may mean that the start dates are pushed back again. It also gives a welcome opportunity for further consideration of responses to consultation.

Over summer there is likely to be a Finance Bill, probably soon after the election, whatever the outcome. I would expect this to include much of what was omitted from the current FA, with the benefit of longer for drafting.