A new think tank report highlights the need to increase pension contributions. Over time, good ideas start to age. Take, for example, automatic enrolment into workplace pensions, which is now eleven years old. In some respects, it has been highly successful – about 80% of employees are now benefiting from pension contributions compared […]
State pension increases could be outpacing inflation next April, and there’s no guarantee of the Triple Lock surviving the next election. In mid-September, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published the latest earnings data, covering the period May to July 2023. Earnings data has been the focus of much attention recently because a fall in […]
National Savings & Investments has launched two top of the savings league table one-year bonds, but the headline rates may not be your net return. The primary role of National Savings & Investments (NS&I) is “cost-effective financing for the government.” In the current financial year, NS&I has been charged with raising between £4.5 billion and […]
Recent data from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has shown that Inheritance Tax (IHT) receipts for the 2022–23 tax year totalled £7.1bn, up £1bn from the previous tax year. With receipts consistently rising, this significant uplift can be attributed in part to ‘a combination of the recent rises in asset values and the government’s decision […]
The property outlook for landlords remains somewhat contradictory. On the one hand, rents increased by 5% across the UK in the year to May 2023, but set against this, property prices continue to fall, with many sellers having to discount by 5% or more to secure a sale. Mortgage costs remain high, with the rate […]
Capital gains tax raised £16.7 billion in 2021/22, according to HMRC – a 15% increase over the previous year. But what lies behind these statistics? In early August media outlets reported that the government had raised a record amount of capital gains tax (CGT) last year. There was no doubting the […]
