Introduction Another month, another dire warning from the economic great and good. In March it was the International Monetary Fund’s turn to warn that the world faces ‘economic derailment.’ As always, the blame was laid firmly at the door of the Chinese economic slowdown, with IMF second-in-command, David Lipton, warning that steps needed taking to […]
In the lead up to the budget announcement, George Osborne seemed to bow to the pressure David Cameron and other members of the Conservative Party were putting on him to soften his approach when it comes to pensions and tax relief. Ahead of the announcement, treasury sources suddenly began to indicate that now is ‘not […]
The Chancellor will need to reduce borrowing by £32bn in 2019-20 – the biggest ever annual cash consolidation – in order to meet his Budget surplus target by the end of parliament, according to a new post-Budget briefing report published by the Resolution Foundation. The Foundation’s post-Budget report shows how the Chancellor has chosen to […]
Amongst the key announcements that came from the budget was the introduction of a new ‘Lifetime ISA.’ By far the most attractive feature of this new form of savings account is that contributions every year will receive a healthy 25% bonus from the government. As the maximum annual contribution amount will initially be set at […]
Introduction It was famously said that ‘all roads lead to Rome.’ In British politics, all speeches currently lead to the EU Referendum. George Osborne’s Budget speech, delivered on Wednesday March 16th, was no exception. More than ever, the Chancellor was seeking to balance politics and economics as he rose to speak. On the politics front, […]
February was another month where the problem for this commentary was what to leave out: the world is not short of ‘events’ at the moment. In the Far East, North Korea successfully fired a long range rocket, causing consternation in Tokyo and Seoul. Closer to home, David Cameron returned from Brussels with his deal on […]
After several years of speculation, according to a recent BT Home article, fears are growing that Chancellor George Osborne is finally poised to take away higher-rate tax relief for pension contributions. If this is the case, then the vital cut-off date for investors could well be Wednesday 16th March – the day of his next […]
Think back to the Chancellor’s budget proposals in July last year, and you may remember an announcement about changes to the annual pension allowance. Well, that change is set to come into effect at the start of the new tax year on 6th April 2016. It therefore seems like a good idea for a bit […]
Responding to the HM Treasury consultation on the 3% surcharge on Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) proposals for second properties, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) urges reform of the implementation plans to mitigate potentially negative impacts on the housing market as a whole. The CML view is that even without the new surcharge, the […]
Two books are first and third in the current US Best Sellers list – both by Japanese-American tidying guru, Marie Kondo. Her tidying wisdom has swept the US as a way to feel better about yourself and your home and it’s now heading to the UK. She recently shared her top tips for ‘decluttering’ and […]