This Budget is Osborne’s chance to simplify tax and defend globalisation March 16, 2016 There are two threads – one general, the other highly specific – which I should like to see weaved into the fabric of the chancellor’s Budget statement today. First, a clear defence of globalisation and, second, firm action towards the long overdue merger of income tax and National Insurance. Despite what purists might regard as [...]
Buy to let tax changes: Why a landlord exodus remains unlikely March 16, 2016 The growth of buy-to-let has been among the defining characteristics of the post-crisis mortgage market. Council of Mortgage Lenders figures released this month show that lending to landlords accounted for 17 per cent of all new loans in the third quarter of 2015. With rising property prices, meanwhile, property consultants Savills estimated last year that [...]
Tighter pension rules and high taxes are pushing investors into venture capital trusts – but can supply keep up? March 16, 2016 Middle class taxpayers will be hoping for some long overdue good news in today’s Budget after years of measures designed to extract more of their hard-earned cash to help pay down the deficit. Indeed, it is estimated that over the last five years there has been a 32 per cent increase in the number of [...]
Legal & General’s share price falls after group boosts dividend on the back of double-digit profit growth March 15, 2016 Legal & General's share price fell this morning, despite boosting its dividend by 19 per cent and committing to "progressive" increases in future on the back of double-digit profit gains. The figures Operating profit was up 14 per cent to £1.46bn, while profit after tax rose 10 per cent to £1.09bn. Adjusted earnings per share rose 11 per cent [...]
From the Personal Savings Allowance and Dividend Allowance to the Help to Buy Isa, how can savers make the most of their Isa this tax year? March 15, 2016 The world of Isas was once a sleepy one. At every Budget, the chancellor would typically increase the amount you could contribute each tax year by some measure of inflation. You had a simple choice between putting that money into a cash or a stocks and shares Isa (or a slightly restrictive combination of the [...]
Budget 2016: Labour’s London mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan urges chancellor George Osborne to take “emergency action” on housing March 14, 2016 Ahead of George Osborne's Budget this week Labour's London mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan has called on the chancellor to take "emergency action" to help fix London's housing crisis. Khan is pushing Osborne to help double the number of homes built in the capital fo more than 50,000 a year. He warned that the capital's housing [...]
Budget 2016 predictions: A spread of tax raising measures are coming – from raising capital gains tax to tackling salary sacrifice schemes March 14, 2016 Next week’s Budget looms large as experts are anticipating wide-ranging changes, with chancellor George Osborne tweaking tax to raise revenue and balance the books. Pensions were widely anticipated to be an area of huge upheaval, but Osborne has now delayed plans to fiddle with the system. It’s more likely that lots of niche areas are targeted. [...]
Budget 2016: Chancellor George Osborne to kick start £16bn B&B sell-off March 12, 2016 Chancellor George Osborne is gearing up to kick start a £16bn sale of bailed-out banking group Bradford and Bingley (B&B) loans in next week's Budget. Osborne decided to include the projected sale of the mortgage lender on Wednesday, following weeks of discussions with Treasury officials. The timing of the auction is unclear, and it may not conclude for months, giving investor's appetites [...]
What does the latest forecast mean for Osborne’s budget? March 10, 2016 Following David Cameron and George Osborne's failure to extend Sunday trading laws, more bad news has arrived in the form of the ICAEW's economic forecast which could spell trouble for Osborne's Budget proposal next week. ICAEW's forecast has UK companies investing less this year due to declining business confidence, volatile global financial markets and a fall in [...]
Give booming London more control of tax to create a virtuous circle of new homes and better transport March 10, 2016 For decades, transport has been at the top of Londoners’ list of concerns. Weary commuters reading their copy of City A.M. on today’s commute will know all too well how delays and congestion can make travelling in the morning peak draining. But as a result of the sustained efforts of successive mayors, borough leaders and [...]