Autumn Statement 2016 'will be thin on proposals'

Philip Hammond’s Autumn Statement 2016 has received a reported thumbs-down for its contents some nine days before it is officially unveiled.

In fact, an unnamed Treasury insider was said at the weekend to have described drafts of the chancellor’s proposals due to be announced on November 23^rd as “thin”.

The Mail on Sunday also reported the insider as claiming that the only ‘stand-out’ proposal from Mr Hammond will be a £5billion boost for road and rail infrastructure projects.

The disclosure comes just days after HM Revenue & Customs blamed small firms for half of the UK’s ‘tax gap’ -- the reason ‘why contractors get attacked by HMRC on multiple fronts.’

Jim Harra, a commissioner of HMRC, reportedly apportioned the blame on Thursday, in a speech to accountants who had expressed concern about Making Tax Digital (MTD).

According to the Financial Times, in a defence of MTD, Mr Harra, said the small business tax gap created by error and carelessness is “why we cannot just carry on as we do now.”

Meanwhile, replying to the MTD consultations, the British Bankers' Association told HMRC that “there is a need to make sure that customers are protected during the implementation.”

It also told the Revenue that already introduced tax-led changes affecting deposit products should have time to settle and be understood, before “any further changes are made.”

The BBA addressed the chancellor too, telling him in its Autumn Statement submission that the current tax system does not suggest Britain is “open for business” since the Brexit vote.