Recent Government updates on Brexit and potential tax implications

Fri 01 Sep 2017

The UK has issued 11 papers on Brexit issues between 15 and 31 August. These are listed below, and can be found along with other Brexit papers on the Government webpage on Article 50 and negotiations with the EU.  The papers are listed under the relevant headings; Position papers, Future partnership papers, Technical notes and background papers etc. The EU’s record of papers issued concerning Article 50 negotiations with the UK can be found here.

The Joint Technical note on EU-UK citizens’ rights after the second round of negotiations compares the respective EU and UK position on various issues as at 20 July.  While there are areas of agreement on social security aspects, there are still differences and the UK issued an updated table as at 31 August 2017 (see link below).

The UK has made clear that Brexit will mean an end to the jurisdiction of the CJEU (for example see the 23 August paper on enforcement and dispute resolution at the link below). It will, however, work with the EU to provide for close cooperation to achieve the key objectives of both the UK and EU on enforcement and dispute resolution.

It is still not yet clear how the existing arrangements on social security (currently governed by EU regulation) will be operated post Brexit, though this is perhaps detail to be covered at a later date.

The other key recent papers on areas affecting tax would include the partnership paper on future customs arrangements and the position paper on Northern Ireland and Ireland (see papers issued on 15 and 16 August at the links below). On customs arrangements the UK will leave the Customs Union and two possible options are suggested for the on-going relationship.  These are:

• A streamlined approach continuing some existing arrangement and putting in place new unilateral arrangements (and technology) to reduce and remove barriers to trade; or
• A new customs approach where, for example, the UK might mirror the EU’s requirements for imports from the rest of the world where their final destination is the EU.

The suggestion is that an interim period is agreed between moving from one phase to the next. With respect to the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, the UK would seek to avoid the re-imposition of a physical border for the movement of goods, with the indication that this will require a refinement to customs arrangements with the EU.  The practical issues to resolve here seem hugely complex at this stage.

It is still early in the negotiating stage, but it is to be hoped that the pace of resolution of areas of complexity and differences of opinion will increase the closer we get to 2019.