The days of businesses masquerading as individuals to avoid tax when selling goods on online platforms like eBay are numbered. Contributors various authors.

Toby Ryland corporate tax partner at the chartered accountants HW Fisher & Company: “The government has long identified this problem as a serious drain on its VAT revenues, and the Chancellor now plans to tighten the screw further. While this is still just a consultation, it opens the door for the government to force online platforms to deduct VAT from sales, and then oblige sellers to prove they are eligible to claim it back.

However such an approach would be a hammer to crack a nut, and is likely to raise lots of tricky questions about whether the platforms will have to deduct VAT from all sales, or just those made by sellers they think are businesses. Clearly the imposition of such a bureaucratic burden will make life difficult for frequent ebay sellers who do it as a source of extra income rather than a business.

But the greater hurdle for the government will be the reaction of the internet platforms themselves, who will respond to the threat of extra red tape with the full force of their legal and lobbying firepower. With the government’s tax relationship with the tech titans already strained, this consultation risks muddying the waters further.”

Laith Khalaf, Senior Analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown: “Philip Hammond is feeling particularly Tigger-like apparently, but there’s no honey today for public services, more a hint of some honey tomorrow in the Autumn Budget later this year. That promise is based on current economic tailwinds continuing until then, and not being snatched away by the vagaries of economic forecasting. In other words, don’t count your chickens just yet.

The pound rose on currency markets in reaction to the improved economic forecasts, in particular the expectation that real wage growth will return to the UK this year, raising the prospects for higher interest rates. There’s not a great deal of reaction on the stock market, reflecting the stripped-down nature of the statement and the lack of any clear policy changes affecting individual companies.

Despite the upbeat tone from the Chancellor, the UK is clearly out of favour as an investment destination for both domestic and overseas investors. In particular, retail investors continue to withdraw money from funds investing in UK shares, preferring international markets instead. While there are clearly risks to the UK economy, the current bout of extreme pessimism towards the UK stock market looks overcooked. The UK is home to a diverse range of companies, many of whom pay a decent dividend, and it shouldn’t be ignored by investors looking for a home for their money.”

David Clift, HR Director at totaljobs: “We share the government’s commitment to getting more people into work and will continue to work with employers to meet the ambitious target of an additional 500,000 people in employment by 2022. This number is achievable and we continue to see strong appetite by UK employers to bolster their teams and make new hires, in spite of economic uncertainty. In fact, we anticipate 2018 to continue to be a positive year for workers throughout the country with 20% more jobs available now than a year ago.  The increase of the national living wage is further proof of the employee-centric approach the government is taking and we applaud this decision.”