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News
“Rachel Reeves may be forced to raise taxes”
Why did she/they (in the old sense) think that tinkering around with IHT and CGT would be enough to sort out the NHS; and the potholes; and…and the list goes on. My guess is that they asked the Treasury for a list of anything not involving income tax that they could get away with lightly, although they should already have learned from the winter fuel stuff that all publicity is not good publicity.
“2024 a mixed year for sustainable investing, report finds”
lthough in theory the environment (pardon the) for sustainable/ethical/responsible funds improved significantly last year, the performance of many did not. Excluding oil/mining/guns/fags all hampered their performance in the aftermath of Ukraine.
“‘Clear trend’ of smaller IFAs exiting the market”
As rehearsed many times on these pages, the average age of the financial adviser population is around retirement age and for many the (on paper, anyway) easy route to that retirement is to sell out to another IFA looking to expand, or, more likely, to a ‘consolidator’
“Why people over the age of 55 are the new problem generation”
I suspect that many a ‘boomer’ might be pleased with the ‘problem generation’ label. When they were teen- or twenty-somethings, their parents’ generation may well have either despaired of them or worried about the world into which they were emerging as adults; it will ever be thus.
“HMRC: ‘digitalising tax process could close gap’”
You, like a majority of both taxpayers and accountants, may have been sweating and cursing over a keyboard last week to submit a last-minute tax return. Many by the end of that accursed process will have been shouting ‘bring back paper!’, a vain and pointless hope, I’m afraid.
“Fewer than one quarter of advisers’ clients are under 45”
Thirty or more years ago, the opposite was the case, and a majority of clients were, if not under 45, then certainly below retirement age; in the ‘accumulation’ rather than ‘decumulation’ phase, in current fin servs jargon, saving fof rather than spending in retirement.
“Reeves plans £160 billion business boost by changing pension fund rules”
And why were the rules on how and where pension funds can invest put in place? Because the amounts which many big final salary pension schemes were holding in shares meant that, when markets fell they fell into deficit Many then had to surrender themselves to the Pension Protection Fund, particularly if the employer was either bust or not able to add enough money to the fund to prop it up.
“FCA to tear down regulatory barriers in response to government growth calls”
If those ‘regulatory barriers’ can be so easily torn down, it begs the question, why were they erected in the first place? The other oft-heard refrain is ‘health and safety gone mad’. Again, why?
“Campaigners claim victory as HMRC overhauls pension withdrawal tax system”
This has been a long-standing bugbear for many an adviser and more particularly our clients taking withdrawals from their pensions. ‘Pension freedoms’ were introduced nearly ten years ago, allowing supposedly easy, uncomplicated access to pension funds of any size.
“Can the magnificent seven ever be considered a ‘responsible’ investment?”
Ethical? Sustainable? Responsible? Let’s call the whole thing off, what’s in a name? What should and shouldn’t, what would you expect and not expect to be included in an ethical portfolio.
“The decline in remote working hits Britain’s housing market”
I watched ‘Panorama’ this week, all about the return to the office, should we/shouldn’t we? Do homeworkers really doss around all day in Jim-jams and slippers watching daytime TV with half an eye on the computer, or are they actually more productive without hours of tubes and commuting.
“Expats to be ‘severely impacted’ by Spain’s 100% tax on foreign homes”
I think we’ll be seeing some similarly radical tax plans across the pond in coming weeks and months. However, for any Brits thinking of retiring or second-homing in Spain, well, get in quick has to be the advice.