Tax

At Autumn Budget 2024, the government published a Corporate Tax Roadmap setting out its approach to tax administration, including a commitment to create a stable and predictable tax environment. To that end, HM Treasury launched a consultation on 26 March 2025 – coinciding with Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Spring Statement – for the development of a new process offering advance tax certainty for major investment projects.

The consultation document (available here) outlines the government’s proposals for the new process and seeks views from stakeholders in relation to key features including eligibility, scope and process. The initial proposals include the following:

• Project criteria: A clear, quantitative threshold (likely in the hundreds of millions) would be established, and set in terms of authorised project spend for investments in fixed and intangible assets. The government envisages that, at least initially, this would result in dozens of eligible projects in any given year. However, there is an acknowledgement that a financial threshold, in isolation, may not capture some projects of national or strategic importance, and the government seeks views specifically on targeted criteria that may bring such projects in scope.
• Entity criteria: To obtain an advance clearance, entities would need to be subject to UK corporation tax, either at the time of application or once the relevant project proceeds.
• Scope of clearance: UK corporation tax would be the core area for advance certainty, although the government is open to exploring the case for expansion into other areas such as VAT, stamp taxes and employer duties. In any event, the government will strive to avoid duplication with existing clearance procedures, and the existing non-statutory clearance process will remain in place for investments falling outside the scope of the new process. The government also notes that the new clearance process would apply to specific questions regarding taxation of a material aspect of the relevant project, rather than tax in general or tax questions in the abstract.

The consultation also sets out proposals for the administrative aspects of the clearance process, including timing, fees and form of submission. The consultation will remain open until 17 June 2025, and the government has stated its intention to implement the new process in 2026. Please speak to a member of the Weil London Tax team for further information.