Amid the chaos in the banking sector after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank’s U.K. subsidiary, Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt presented the Spring 2023 Budget on Wednesday. Hunt, who was previously dealing with bank failures, told BBC reporters that the closure of U.K. financial institutions would not pose any immediate danger to the British financial system. The budget released by the Treasury outlined the U.K. government’s decisions to “restore economic stability, support public services and lay the foundations for long-term growth”.
The budget also discusses taxes and spending, specifically “tackling tax evasion promoters”. The U.K. government plans to introduce new criminal offences for tax evaders and will soon consult on the matter. According to the Treasury budget, “the government may also accelerate the disqualification of directors of companies which promote tax avoidance, including those exercising control.”
The Treasury also mentions amending the U.K.’s self-assessment tax forms to account for cryptocurrency assets. “According to the Treasury notice, the government will require amounts related to cryptocurrency assets to be identified separately on self-assessment tax return forms. In the U.K., self-assessment tax returns are due on Jan. 31 each year, so there will be changes to the tax forms for the 2024-25 tax year. U.K. taxpayers file tax records using the Government Gateway Service and must list cryptocurrency assets separately under the amended rule.
The budget from the U.K. Finance Minister and Treasury follows U.S. President Joe Biden’s recently presented annual budget for 2024, including proposed tax policies targeting cryptocurrency investors. Biden’s budget aims to eliminate the corresponding exchange provision, Section 1031, from the Internal Revenue Code. The president’s administration believes closing the loophole would prevent the “super-rich” from exploiting similar exchange provisions.
