Capital gains tax : recent developments
This briefing discusses the reforms made to capital gains tax since 2008, including the most recent changes announced in the 2024 Autumn Budget.

Following a consultation exercise, in December 2014 the Coalition Government confirmed that from 1 April 2015, landfill site operators would be able to use a new 'Loss on Ignition' (LOI) test, to ensure they charged the right rate of landfill tax on 'fines' - residual waste from waste processing. Operators would be able to charge the lower rate of tax on 'fines' meeting certain criteria. This Order would introduce the new test. It is not expected to have an Exchequer impact.
Landfill tax was introduced on 1 October 1996: the UK’s first tax with an explicit environmental purpose. It is administered by HM Revenue & Customs and collected from landfill site operators. It is charged at a standard rate per tonne on ‘active wastes’ (such as household wastes that decay), and at a lower rate on inactive on inert wastes. From 1 April 2015, these rates are £82.60 (standard) and £2.60 (lower). Guidance on the tax is published on Gov.uk (HMRC, Excise Notice LFT1: a general guide to Landfill Tax, March 2015.)
Since its introduction, the standard rate of tax has been increased significantly, to increase the tax’s environmental impact; initially the rates of tax were £7 (standard) and £2 (lower). Clearly there are considerable financial implications for site operators when waste meets the statutory test for qualifying for the lower rate (this is set in secondary legislation: SI 2011/1017). Technological developments in the industry have made this process harder. In 2012 HMRC issued two sets of guidance to clarify how certain types of waste should be classified, including waste from waste transfer stations and material recovery facilities (HMRC Brief 15/12, 18 May 2012; Brief 18/12, 1 June 2012). Some of this waste would consist of ‘fines’ – small particles produced by the recyling process. In some cases it would be hard to determine if fines came wholly or mostly from waste subject to the lower rate.
During 2014 HMRC consulted on introducting a ‘loss on ignition’ test, where the lower rate of landfill tax would apply where fines meet an LOI threshold of 10% or less. In December the Government published draft primary legislation, with a view to the new test being introduced from 1 April 2015. It also announced that there would be a 12 month transitional period when the threshold would be 15% (HMRC, Landfill tax: compliance work in relation to lower rate, December 2014). Section 65 & Schedule 15 of the Finance Act 2015 establish a new category of “qualifying fines” which will be liable to landfill tax at the lower rate and provide for the power to impose requirements with which fines must comply in order to be considered “qualifying fines”. In February 2015 HMRC published two draft SIs, to complete the new testing regime; these were laid before the House on 27 March 2015 (SI 2015/845 & SI 2015/846).
The House approved the first of these Orders on Tuesday June 16th (HC Deb 16.6.2015 cc286-290). This is a revised version (SI 2015/1385), as the original Order was not approved within the statutory time period (see para 3 to the Explanatory Memorandum to this SI).
This briefing discusses the reforms made to capital gains tax since 2008, including the most recent changes announced in the 2024 Autumn Budget.
A general debate on the global plastics treaty is scheduled to take place in the House of Commons Chamber on Thursday 17 July 2025. The subject for this debate was determined by the Backbench Business Committee.
This note covers rights of way issues in England and Wales, including how they are recorded and how their records can be modified. It explains how they can be used and responsibilities for maintaining them.