Just over 6 weeks to go until the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, publish the Government’s Autumn Budget – the date for your diary is Wednesday 22 November 2017.
The Autumn Budget sets out the government’s plans for the economy based on the latest forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
This will be the first Autumn Budget under the new timetable announced at last year’s Autumn Statement which confirmed that there will be only one Budget each year going forward, and always held in autumn now rather than spring.
The OBR is required by law to produce two forecasts a year, and from 2018 there will be a Spring Statement, responding to the forecast from the OBR, but no major fiscal event – though the government has said it will retain the option to make changes to fiscal policy at the Spring Statement if economic circumstances require it.
Also in line with the new timetable, we expect the second Finance Bill of the current parliament (Finance (No. 2) Bill 2017-19) to be published after the Budget; this will become Finance Act 2017. The draft clauses for this Bill will be published for consultation on 13 September 2017.
The first Finance Bill of the current parliament is on its way through parliament and we expect it to get Royal Assent as Finance (No 2) Act 2017 before the Budget.
Article sourced and adapted from ICAEW