The Spring statement 2025 was full of political rhetoric, every announcement was followed by promised by this government, delivered by this government, opposed by the parties opposite.
The most significant statement from a tax perspective was that we would finally be reverting to one fiscal statement per year so:
- One autumn Budget with
- One set of tax announcements and changes leaving
- Lots of time for them to be adjusted for the next financial year
The only tax specific announcement was that there would be no further tax increases in this statement from the Labour Budget 2024. However there will be a big push to clamp down on tax evaders by increasing by 20% the number of tax fraudsters charged every year. This aims to raise £1bn in unpaid taxes by targeting evaders with HMRC to roll out cutting edge technology using AI. A promise made by every recent government, let’s see if it works. Otherwise there were a number of OBR forecasts announced:
- Inflation to fall to 2% by 2027 from current 3%
- Current year growth forecast reduced to 1% however
- Forward growth forecast increasing by between 1.8%-1.9% between 2026 and 2028 with the easing of planning and investment by the government
Apart from generating growth and increased tax revenues government expenditure will be reduced making government leaner except in Defence which will be increased to 2.5% GDP. There will also be savings in benefits targeting the get back to work claimants as announced earlier in the week.
Under the government’s Stability Rule this will keep tax receipts ahead of expenditure, time will tell whether this is realistic and it will be seen in the autumn Budget whether further tax changes need to be made. The Spring Statement 2025 has made little difference in the tax position except for tax evaders and you should seek professional advice before taking any steps based on these contents. If you would like advice in this or other areas feel free to call. Alastair Wood, AW Accounting, Shrewsbury, Shropshire – Accountants who “speak your language”