“Separating couples will be breathing a sigh of relief as the transfer of the family home between spouses as part of a divorce remains Stamp Duty exempt. Given the overall cost of Stamp Duty, from a tax and cost efficiency point of view there will always be savings if one party can retain the family home, however this will depend on whether it is affordable to maintain and the release of other capital to the non-occupying spouse.
The changes to Capital Gains Tax mean that people will now have a bigger tax bill to pay and so divorcing spouses may need to reconsider the split of assets if settlements have not been reached and ahead of the implemented changes.
Businesses will now have a bigger employer NI contribution to make and unless this cost is passed on to consumers – which may increase costs and inflation – if it is absorbed then profits in turn will fall. For parties going through divorce and who have businesses, the underlying valuation of their business may be impacted by the increased cost of NI.”