One in five residential property sales could be affected by new tax laws this April March 30, 2020 From 6 April 2020, a major change to tax payment dates will come into force. It will apply to landlords, second home owners, divorcing couples – indeed any UK resident who sells or gifts a residential property situated in the UK, on which a capital gains tax (CGT) bill arises. At present, individuals who dispose [...]
Tax needs to keep pace with global developments March 30, 2020 Designing a modern-day tax system takes co-ordination on a global scale, with many players all having a part. The business of tax faces challenges in the 21st century: its role as a force for good, and the way tax systems are designed and implemented Adapt to survive In a fast-changing world, tax systems have to [...]
IFISAs: Invest in British entrepreneurs and maximise your tax-free ISA March 25, 2020 Innovative Finance ISAs offer an exciting alternative investment channel, helping you diversify your portfolio and maximising your £20,000 tax-free ISA allowance — all while supporting high performing British entrepreneurs. Finding the right businesses for your portfolio without skimping on the details you need to make an informed investment decision has always been a challenge. Crowd2Fund [...]
Workplace: a key driver of business growth March 20, 2020 For organisations that dream of emulating Silicon Valley’s success stories, growth is the main goal. However, many senior managers underestimate the importance of bringing an organisation’s strategy into the physical realm of the workplace. Theoretically, it is well known that an organisation’s people – both its employees and clients – technology and operations are key [...]
How important is work-life balance to employees? March 16, 2020 Employers who want to attract more job applicants – particularly younger ones – should talk about their work-life balance policies when recruiting, suggests research by Shainaz Firfiray. Dr Firfiray’s experimental study involving 189 MBA students aged between 26 and 40 found that people were more likely to apply for a job that promised flexibility than [...]
Commission-free* stock trading marks a new era for retail traders March 13, 2020 Modern technology has made retail trading accessible to all – literally at the tip of our fingertips – but it wasn’t always this easy. It’s fair to say that the technology underpinning online retail trading has come a long way since the days of pagers and dial-up modems (look it up, kids…). As we enter [...]
Demographics predict stock and bond yields, study shows March 6, 2020 Investors can use demographic trends to predict both the stock and bond market yields, a new study shows. Researchers from Warwick Business School and Copenhagen Business School found US stock and government bond markets have followed surprisingly similar paths since the Second World War. Yields from both markets followed similar 20-year boom and bust cycles [...]
Which VCTS and EIS I would buy today February 26, 2020 Tax pressure in Britain is at a 50-year high. Higher earners are feeling the squeeze as many traditional avenues of investing tax-efficiently have been blocked – from pension restrictions to the cuts to buy-to-let tax relief. What tax-efficient options are left? Two increasingly popular options for experienced investors are Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) and the [...]
The value of trust in an age of fake news February 10, 2020 Ipsos MORI may be best known for its political polls during the run up to a General Election, but that is only a tiny part of its business. Far more of its time and resources are devoted to conducting market research for a wide range of major organisations. It is an industry where trust is [...]
Five tips to be a wiser leader January 29, 2020 I have been teaching and researching leadership for more than 20 years and I believe leadership is a skill that can be learnt with reflective practice. Here, I give my top tips to become a better leader. 1. The ‘going beyond’ principle A good leader needs to go beyond the immediate; they need to go [...]