Welcome to the Summer 2011 Edition of our newsletter.
In this edition, we look at a range of tax and law issues which may interest you, either personally or professionally.
If you would like more information on any of the topics contained in this newsletter, please contact us, or of you have any suggestions for topics you would like us to cover in future issues, again please let us know. |
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A new pensions world
6 April is often an important date in the pensions world.
In 2006, 6 April marked the start of a new pension tax regime, and last year it heralded the beginning of new basic state pension rules. 6 April 2011 saw the start of another...
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Spring Budget changes to the fore
Mr Osborne’s second Budget managed to produce a few surprises, in spite of all the changes his first Budget contained.
There was an expectation among some commentators that the Chancellor’s second Budget would be a dull...
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Is your individual savings account (ISA) earning 0.5% interest?
If you invested in a cash ISA paying 3% interest a little over a year ago, you should check what rate your capital is earning now. Many cash ISAs offering top rates in spring 2010 did so by adding a substantial one-year bonus rate to a low variable...
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IHT - is it time to give a little?
The Budget announced one helpful future change, but more radical reform could be on the horizon.
Before last year’s election there was talk that the inheritance tax (IHT) nil rate band would be raised to £1 million. During...
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Could you live on £140 a week?
The Government has finally revealed its thinking on the future of state pensions – and it really is food for thought.
Last autumn, a variety of press reports began to appear suggesting the Government was about to introduce a...
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Did you know that, in the March Budget, the Chancellor announced that the Government would be bringing forward 'proposals to manage future increases in the state pension age (SPA) more automatically in response to increases in longevity'?
The subsequent Department for Work and Pensions consultation paper on reforming state pensions (see ‘Could you live on £140 a week?’), put forward two ideas on how SPA could be adjusted. If you were born after 5 April 1954, your SPA is...
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Inflation: a threat to buying power, interest rates - and tax allowances
Inflation has not been within the Bank of England’s (BOE’s) limits since 2009, and the European Central Bank (ECB) says it is still on the rise. What are the implications for UK savers?
Buying power down
Inflation...
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Don't waste the personal allowance
The personal allowance rose by £1,000 in April – it could make sense to use it.
The basic personal allowance is now £7,475, which broadly speaking means that the first £7,475 of your income is not taxed. However,...
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Test-Achats ECJ decision bites
Belgians, gender and annuities might be an unlikely combination, but it could be important for your retirement income.
In March, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) issued a landmark ruling on a case involving sex equality and insurance...
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Protection insurance: the countdown to change begins
Is it different for girls? Not any longer ...
You may have heard about the recent European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling on gender discrimination which means that insurers can no longer charge different rates for men and women (see...
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An ISA is not just for March
It is one of the curiosities of personal finance that marketing for individual savings accounts (ISAs) is concentrated at the end of the tax year. The March weekend papers are full of ISA ads and supplements, but by May any trace of ISAs has melted away...
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