Why Valuations Now Matter More Than Ever

Business Property Relief (BPR) has long been one of the most valuable tools in inheritance tax (IHT) planning. For many business owners, it has provided a route to pass trading businesses to the next generation with little or no IHT exposure, often removing the need for detailed tax valuations at the point of transfer.

A series of measures announced in the Chancellor’s Spring Statement will significantly reshape how employers report benefits and manage employee remuneration over the next few years. From April 2027, businesses will be required to report benefits in kind through payroll software, while parallel adjustments to company car and van tax charges will steadily increase the cost of providing these perks. Looking further ahead, reforms to salary sacrifice arrangements from April 2029 are set to alter the National Insurance treatment of pension contributions, potentially increasing costs for both employers and employees. Taken together, these changes signal a clear direction of travel: greater administrative integration, rising tax burdens on workplace benefits, and a tightening of incentives around employee reward structures.

In 2026 Spring Statement, the government confirmed that the National Insurance Contributions (NICs) framework will remain broadly stable into the 2026/27 tax year, with key thresholds frozen and rates largely unchanged, providing a degree of certainty for both employers and individuals. 

Following the Chancellor’s Spring Statement, the government has set out a series of measures affecting businesses and entrepreneurs, including corporation tax, capital allowances and research and development relief. While headline rates remain stable, for companies planning investment, managing cash flow or preparing for compliance changes, understanding these updates will be key.

The Chancellor’s Spring Statement signals a continued tightening of the UK’s tax landscape. While headline Capital Gains Tax rates remain unchanged and allowances such as the £3,000 exemption are held steady, more nuanced reforms point to a clear direction of travel: reliefs are being restricted, thresholds remain frozen, and previously generous regimes are being reshaped. From the reduction in Employee Ownership Trust relief and the tightening of Business Asset Disposal Relief, to major changes in how pensions are treated for Inheritance Tax, the cumulative effect is a system that places greater emphasis on proactive planning. For business owners, investors and families alike, the message is unmistakable, standing still is no longer a neutral position.

Whilst the world around us may be in turmoil and as the UK approaches the end of the tax year with perhaps a feeling of intrepidation, we’re highlighting some of the main points arising from the Chancellor’s recent Spring Statement. And in this post, we take a look at those all-important pensions and tax-efficient investments. 

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, delivered the Spring Statement on Tuesday 3 March 2026. The government has been keen to have only one tax event per year (the Budget) and so the Spring Statement was intended to provide an interim update on the economy and public finances and provide reassurance to the business community.

Against a backdrop of mounting fiscal pressure and a renewed focus on closing the tax gap, the Government has set out a wide-ranging programme of reforms aimed at strengthening tax administration, accelerating collection and improving compliance. Through increased investment in HM Revenue & Customs, greater use of digital technology, earlier payment of tax liabilities and tougher enforcement tools, the measures signal a decisive shift towards real-time taxation and more robust scrutiny of unpaid and under-reported tax. Together, these changes reflect a clear policy intention: to modernise the tax system, recover more revenue, and ensure that taxpayers meet their obligations promptly and accurately.

Whilst the 2025 Budget may feel like a long time ago, there were a number of measures contained within it that affect non-doms and resident foreigners and about which you need to be aware.