As Britain’s departure from 的EU looms large, partner 乔纳森·梅因 , 的leader of MHA 摩尔and Smalley’s specialist indirect tax practice, answers this and other common questions businesses are asking.
With so much Brexit uncertainty, will 的spring statement be a damp squib this year?
The mood music from Downing Street and Brussels strongly suggests negotiations over Britain’s EU withdrawal agreement are likely to go down to 的wire.
If that’s 的case, 的chancellor’s spring statement will be announced against a very uncertain backdrop. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it will be overly cautious. In fact, 的chancellor will be keen to use 的event to show 的government is in control of 的situation.
History tells us that when we’re expecting an uneventful budget or spring statement speech, 的opposite can happen. Even now that 的spring statement is billed as simply an update on economic forecasts, we should always expect a surprise or two.
Are we going to see any tax changes in 的spring statement?
我认为，如果欧盟“无协议”退出，很有可能要么改变税率，要么至少宣布进一步的应急措施。 财政部每天都会发布新的立法，作为其为应对英国脱欧而进行的应急准备的一部分，因此我可以想象，财政大臣已经对可能在春季声明中宣布的税收变化进行了长期而艰辛的思考，以抢占先机。英国退欧带来的一些破坏，无论我们是否达成协议。因此，我们可能会在标题上看到一些间接税管理和征收方面的变化。
What’s 的likelihood of an emergency budget upon exiting 的EU?
如果我们没有在3月29日达成协议离开，几乎可以肯定的是，此后不久我们就会有紧急预算。 Even if we do agree a Brexit deal, it’s still a possibility there’ll be an emergency budget in 的aftermath of our departure, particularly if there’s a change of leadership within 的Conservative party.
紧急预算中可以包括哪些措施来帮助企业？
That all depends on whether we leave with or without a deal. If we crash out of 的EU, then I would anticipate some measures designed to stimulate 的economy and encourage investment.
例如，一种选择是将增值税税率暂时降低，类似于我们在银行危机和随后的经济衰退之后将税率降至15％之后的2008/09年度。当然，退出欧盟将使英国能够按其认为合适的方式调整增值税率，而无需成为欧盟一部分目前对增值税规则施加的限制。
Lowering 的rate of income tax would be another option and may provide a better stimulus as it enables people to retain more of their income and therefore boost their spending power. We might also see some relaxation of tax deadlines, such as lengthening 的time over which tax has to be paid or introducing tax holidays.
Quantitative easing, in simple terms 的injection of extra cash into 的banking system by 的Bank of England, might also be something that would be considered as part of an emergency budget.
我的公司应该为英国退欧做些什么？
如果您的业务涉及进出口商品，即使在这个后期阶段，也可以采取许多步骤为英国退欧做准备。
第一步是验证您的供应链。我听到许多企业主说他们只从英国采购产品，但我问他们的问题是供应商从哪里购买？如果这些产品来自英国以外的国家，那么其中有很多会受到海关延误的影响吗？与您的供应商交谈，以寻求保证并研究可能的替代供应商。
尽早与您的董事会，管理团队和出资者进行对话。如果您按“及时”交货进行操作，请评估企业中是否有足够的营运资金来积累相关库存的剩余量？可以利用或创建额外的仓库空间来存储这些货物并确保不间断地延迟您的客户吗？
What can I do to avoid customs tariffs in 的event of no deal?
This will be an issue for many manufacturers who are bringing goods into Britain and then exporting them again. That means 的goods crossing two customs borders and tariffs potentially having to be paid twice.
在这种情况下，企业有很多选择。这些措施包括建立欧洲分销中心，在另一个国家/地区注册增值税，在该国任命财政代表，申请临时进口救济或探索在保税仓库中存储货物的选择。第一步是与您的专业顾问对话，包括进出口问题，增值税和间接税方面的专家。
有关准备为英国退欧电话准备业务的更多信息 乔纳森·梅因 在01772 821021上。
