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Category: Business & Tax & Uncategorized
The governmentâs new Diverted Profits Tax (DPT), commonly known as the âGoogle taxâ, formally came into force on 1st April. Detailed initially during the 2014 Autumn Statement, the tax is an attempt by the government to stop large firms from paying comparatively small amounts of tax in the UK by âdivertingâ their profits to be reported overseas.
Category: Election & Uncategorized
There are now only weeks to go until the General Election, which â by common consent â will be the most closely fought and difficult to predict in a generation. Since only last week, a dozen opinion polls have been published and not one of them has made forecasting the likely outcome on May 7th any easier.
Category: Housing & property & Uncategorized
At the Council of Mortgage lenders Annual Conference in November 2014, Michael Rhodes, of the Leeds Building Society, in his address to the Conference, said:
âOne of the biggest problems for anybody attempting to get on to the property ladder is funding the deposit â regardless of the lender they are looking to get a mortgage from. It can take a very long time to save up for a deposit, especially if the âbank of mum and dadâ are not able to fund the full amount at short notice in one lump sum.â
Category: pensions & retirement & Uncategorized
Women retiring in 2015 expect a retirement income 25% lower than men, according to the Prudentialâs annual âClass ofâ research. However, the research also reports that the retirement income gender gap is at its lowest since 2009, when Prudential first started tracking the difference between male and female retirement income expectations as part of its âClass ofâ research. Women appear to be increasingly optimistic about their finances in retirement.
Category: Tax & Uncategorized
The Government (HMRC) intends to modernise the tax system, with tax returns being replaced by digital tax accounts for millions of individuals and businesses. Each taxpayersâ details will be in one place, just like an online bank account, so they can register for new services, update their information and understand quickly what they need to pay â without ever having to complete a tax return again. By early 2016, five million small businesses and the first ten million individuals will have access to a secure, personalised digital tax account. By 2020, more than 50 million individuals and small businesses will have a secure, personalised digital tax account. The need for millions to complete a tax return will be gone and the tax system will be simplified for millions more.
Category: annuity & pensions & savings & Uncategorized
The Chancellor, George Osborne, has confirmed that from April 2016, some five million existing annuity holders will be given the right to sell their annuity in return for a lump sum. The move should give those pensioners who are already locked into potentially poor-value annuities the same freedoms as those retiring after April 2015, who will be able to spend their savings as they wish. Like any other saver taking cash out of their pension, the money will be subject to tax at their marginal rate â that is, the highest rate of income tax that they pay.
