The Finance Bill 2020 has now been published, with explanatory notes. Additional background can be found here and measures of interest include:

• Exemption from Vehicle Excise Duty in respect of medical courier vehicles
• Placing an existing Extra-Statutory Concession on a statutory footing by introducing a new section into Chapter 8 of Part 4 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (“ITEPA”). It prevents any liability to income tax arising in respect of a payment or reimbursement of reasonable private expenses to a voluntary office-holder
• Introduction of a Digital Services Tax – this will not apply to charities
• Procedural changes to the General Anti Abuse Rule (GAAR)
• Excluded properties: The Bill introduces legislation to provide that additions of assets by individuals domiciled in the United Kingdom to trusts made when they were non-domiciled cannot be excluded property and are therefore within the scope of Inheritance Tax
• Transfers between settlements: The Bill introduces legislation to provide that transfers between trusts are subject to additional excluded property tests
• Call-off stock arrangements: Provides for a simplified VAT treatment of call-off stock, by amending the Value Added Tax Act 1994 and the Value Added Tax Regulations 1995. The new rules apply to goods removed from the “origin State” to the “destination State”, that is, from the UK to a Member State or vice-versa on or after 1 January 2020, so that the legislation has a retrospective element
• Places an existing Extra-Statutory Concession on a statutory footing by introducing a new section into the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 that prevents any liability to income tax arising in respect of a payment or reimbursement of reasonable private expenses to a voluntary office-holder.

The Finance Bill did not include changes to the off-payroll working rules for the private sector, as originally planned, as their introduction has been delayed until April 2021.