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Chancellor abolishes Autumn Statement…but introduces Spring Statement

Paloma Kubiak
Written By:
Paloma Kubiak
Posted:
Updated:
23/11/2016

Philip Hammond will scrap the Autumn Statement in favour of a Spring Statement in a move that the Chancellor called a “long-overdue reform to our tax-policy making process”.

During his first Autumn Statement as Chancellor, Hammond said the reform would mean tax changes are announced “well in advance” of the start of the tax year, in a bid to promote certainty and simplicity within the tax system.

The spring Budget in March will be the final one, to be replaced with an autumn Budget. The Spring Statement will begin in 2018 and will be used to announce responses to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s latest forecasts, review wider economic and fiscal challenges and launch consultations.

The ambition is to allow greater parliamentary scrutiny of Budget measures ahead of their implementation, Hammond explained.

Hammond said: “No other major economy makes hundreds of tax changes twice a year, and neither should we.

“If unexpected changes in the economy require it, then I will, of course, announce actions at the Spring Statement, but I won’t make significant changes twice a year just for the sake of it.”

He added: “…this is a long-overdue reform to our tax-policy making process and brings the UK into line with best practice recommended by the IMF, IFS, Institute for government and many others.”