Blog

The complex world of tax on investment The UK tax system has grown increasingly elaborate, thanks to revenue-raising tweaks such as the freezing of many elements and multiple reforms of dividend taxation. With more changes possible in the coming Autumn Budget – even after last year’s £40 billion of Budget tax rises – the complexities […]

The former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner’s recent problems with stamp duty land tax (SDLT) offer a salutary lesson.    In early September, the Deputy Prime Minister (and Housing Secretary) resigned after discovering that she had underpaid SDLT by £40,000 on the purchase of a flat in Hove. That Rayner missed the history of the […]

Are you considering drawing a lump sum from your pension before the Autumn Budget? One of the major tax benefits of saving through pensions is that, generally, 25% of the pension’s value can be drawn as a lump sum, free of income tax, up to a maximum of £268,275. From the point of view of […]

As the Autumn Budget approaches, government bonds are coming back into the spotlight.  In what can seem like an effort to confuse, government bonds are often referred to as gilts. There are two good reasons for the name:  In the distant era of paper certificates, government bonds were on gilt-edged paper. There has never been […]

The ingredients to determine next April’s increase in the State pension are now clear and suggest a problem deferred until the 2026 Budget.          The basis for increases to the old and new State pension is the ‘triple lock’, which sets the change in April to be the greater of: Earnings growth […]

A new survey has revealed a high level of public unawareness of impending pension changes and the need to plan.  While there is plenty of media attention on what surprises might emerge in the November Budget, new research has suggested that many people are unaware of pensions reforms and changes to tax already in train.  […]