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.

This note looks at the Government's recent legislative proposals to prevent 'income shifting' - arrangements used by the main earner in a family businesses to divert part of his income through the business to another person in a lower tax bracket, often their spouse, to mitigate their overall tax bill. These proposals proved controversial, and in the Pre Budget Report in November 2008 the Government confirmed that it was deferring any legislation, but would keep the issue under review.
Income shifting (170 KB , PDF)
This note looks at the Government’s recent legislative proposals to prevent ‘income shifting’ – arrangements used by the main earner in a family businesses to divert part of his income through the business to another person in a lower tax bracket, often their spouse, to mitigate their overall tax bill. These proposals proved controversial, and in the Pre Budget Report in November 2008 the Government confirmed that it was deferring any legislation, but would keep the issue under review.
Income shifting (170 KB , PDF)
This briefing discusses the reforms made to capital gains tax since 2008, including the most recent changes announced in the 2024 Autumn Budget.
The state pension is liable to income tax, though pensioners are unlikely to pay tax in practice if their only income is the state pension.
In the 2024 Autumn Budget the Chancellor announced the introduction of VAT on private school fees from 1 January 2025. This briefing discusses the background to the government's decision and the legislation to bring it into effect.