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Finance Act 2009

Background Note

36.At the 2008 Pre-Budget Report the Chancellor announced a temporary reduction in the standard rate of VAT from 17.5 per cent to 15 per cent. On 25 November 2008 the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, in a written Ministerial statement, explained that the Government would introduce anti-forestalling legislation to prevent artificial avoidance seeking to exploit the change in VAT rate. On 31 March 2009 the Financial Secretary to the Treasury made a further statement concerning additional provisions aimed at blocking such avoidance. Both statements can be seen at www.hmrc.gov.uk

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Explanatory Notes

Text created by the government department responsible for the subject matter of the Act to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes were introduced in 1999 and accompany all Public Acts except Appropriation, Consolidated Fund, Finance and Consolidation Acts.

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