Changes to the personal tax allowance, simplification of the VAT system and a review of tax-exempt business expenses are among the Budget predictions from a regional tax advisory firm.

RSM, which has an office in Bury St Edmunds, has laid out announcements it is confident of and those it feels are reasonably likely when Philip Hammond gives his first Autumn Budget on November 22.

Announcements the firm is confident of include a delay in the roll-out of changes to national insurance (NI) contributions – which caused a stir in the Spring Budget – a review of income tax relief for employee benefits, such as salary sacrifice schemes, and further provision for anti-tax avoidance measures in the Finance Bill 2018.

Meanwhile it believes a possible freeze on increases to the personal tax allowance threshold and a further review of employment practices – following the Taylor Review published in July – are reasonably likely.

In its weekly newsletter, with which the predictions were published, the firm said: 'With the need to restore voter confidence, to reflect the fiscal and economic needs of the UK and to impart a sense of control and order to a government which is perceived to be riven by divisions, there is a growing expectation that the chancellor will deliver a big, bold Budget.'