Showing posts with label tax planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tax planning. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Eight Ways Rishi Sunak's Budget Could Impact You

Eight Ways Rishi Sunak's Budget Could Impact You

Opening his second budget speech of 2021, the chancellor promised a stronger UK economy. The good news is the UK is recovering faster than its major competitors from Covid, the chancellor told MPs.

Rishi Sunak says the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has revised up its forecasts for UK economic growth. The OBR now expects gross domestic product (GDP) to expand by 6.5% this year compared to the 4% it forecast at the Budget in March. This is below what the Bank of England expects - it is predicting 7.4% growth.

Budgets are typically a combination of giving with one hand and taking with the other – winners and losers as the government does its best to boost economic growth whilst keeping public spending in check. In reality, most people will see little difference in their daily lives and must continue to row their own boat without looking to the government to take care of everything.

Here are 8 ways you could be affected.

1. Universal credit boost

If you are working and in receipt of universal credit top-up benefits, you are probably affected by what is officially known as the taper rate. That means the universal credit payment you receive is reduced as you earn more.

Depending on their circumstances around two million would be better off, but another two million claimants will see no benefit because they either do not work or do not earn enough.

It is a significant policy in tackling the rising cost of living which will be brought in "within weeks" and no later than 1 December. It comes after criticism of cancelling the £20-a-week universal credit uplift given during the pandemic which had benefitted 5.5 million people.

2. Rising cost of living - inflation

Everyone knows that prices are going up in the shops and on household bills. The Chancellor confirmed the cost of living is expected to rise by 4% over the next year, mirroring market inflation expectation.

The freeze on fuel duty will continue for at least another year, to help drivers already are hit by higher prices at the pumps.

About 60% of the price we pay for petrol and diesel is tax - a mixture of fuel duty and VAT.

No measures to help householders with rising domestic gas and electricity bills.

3. Minimum wage increase

As expected, workers on minimum wages will receive an above-inflation pay rise next April. For those aged 23 and above the rate - known as the National Living Wage - will go up by 6.6%, as the hourly rate increases from £8.91 to £9.50.

Minimum wage increases from 1 April:

National Living Wage for those aged 23 and over: From £8.91 to £9.50 an hour

National Minimum Wage for those aged 21-22: From £8.36 to £9.18

National Minimum Wage for 18 to 20-year-olds: From £6.56 to £6.83

National Minimum Wage for under-18s: From £4.62 to £4.81

The Apprentice Rate: From £4.30 to £4.81

Public sector staff will also receive a pay rise in April when the freeze on wages in place during the pandemic is lifted. How much this amounts to, and whether it equates to more than the rising cost of living, will be decided at later date.

The government's official, independent forecasters - the Office for Budget Responsibility - said that real incomes for everyone would typically rise very slowly in the coming years. Income rises, after taking into account inflation and changes in tax will be no higher than 1.5% a year for each year up to and including 2026.

4. Alcohol duty overhaul

Drinking is getting more expensive, with pub chains warning that higher wages and energy costs will mean much higher prices for a pint.

However, Mr Sunak announced an overhaul which he described as "the most radical simplification of alcohol duties for 140 years", coming into force in February 2023.

This will lead to higher-strength drinks going up in price, but lower duty on drinks ranging from sparkling wine to draught beer.

The cost of smoking is rising again, with an above-inflation rise in duty on cigarettes and an 11% rise in duty on hand-rolling tobacco, taking effect within hours.

5. Your tax bill

Mr Sunak said he planned to reduce taxes during the rest of this Parliament.

Although announced before this Budget, two massive tax decisions had already been made that will affect your money in the coming years.

In the last Budget, Mr Sunak said the thresholds as which income tax is paid would be frozen at April 2021 levels for five years (although Scotland has different levels). That means pay rises will push more people into higher tax bands.

In September, the government also announced employees, employers and the self-employed would all pay 1.25p more in the pound for National Insurance (NI) from April 2022 to fund social care.

6. Flying

The cost of a domestic flight ticket could be cut, but very long-haul flights could get more expensive.

That is because the chancellor has made changes to Air Passenger Duty - a levy paid by airlines, but ultimately funded by passengers through the cost of their tickets.

7. The cladding crisis

Many homeowners of high-rise flats have faced crippling costs owing to the cladding crisis, following the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

A levy or tax on the biggest property developers of high rises to pay for the removal of dangerous cladding has been confirmed by the chancellor.

8. Money lessons

To help those of the youngest age, there is extra funding for projects supporting new parents.

There is also a new UK-wide programme to improve numeracy skills. The chancellor said that individuals with poor numeracy faced up to £1,600 a year in lost earnings, according to the charity National Numeracy.

The government will spend billions on schools, police and the court service, whilst trying to balance the books and reduce taxes before the next election.

A further £24bn will be earmarked for "a multi-year housing settlement", £11.5bn of which be set aside to build up to 180,000 new affordable homes, which he says is the largest cash investment in a decade. Brown-field land will be targeted for new homes, he says.

Rishi Sunak briefly mentioned a visa scheme to attract the brightest and best to come to the UK to work or start a business.

With inflation rising and interest rates due to be increased, there has never been a more important time to stay informed and never stop learning, especially if you want to invest in property.

Can you make money on social media or from property using none of your own money?  

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Wednesday, December 9, 2020

UK government planning emergency wealth tax grab to pay for coronavirus ...


In case you’re wondering how we are going to pay back all of this money that the government have printed and borrowed this year, take a look in the mirror.

A one-off tax grab on wealth above £500,000 could recover much of the £280 billion the government has spent fighting coronavirus this year, according to a group of experts.

A commission was set up led by assistant Professor Arun Advani at Warwick University last April to look into a wealth tax in Britain.

Measures being considered include a 5% levy on:

·        housing

·        pensions

·        business

·        equity and

·        savings wealth.

At £500,000, around 8 million Britons, or one and six adults, would be hit by the wealth tax.

Setting the threshold at £1 million would raise roughly half this amount and at £10 million would raise just £43 billion from 22,000 people.

The average three-bedroom house in most of the south-east cost the best part of half a million.

Stealing people’s money is not uncommon in Europe. Let’s not forget Cyprus where the government stole its citizens bank balances to pay for their mess.

Phasing out cash for digital currency would obviously make this much easier. Currently there is around £50 billion of cash in circulation.

An Economist I know told me recently that he was looking into the average person’s bank balance and found it had gone up by £8000 this year due to reduced spending.

There is further bad news on the horizon for property owners as the government steps up measures to meet climate control targets.

The average bill for householders could be as high as £8000 to make their homes more energy efficient.

Fossil burning boilers will be phased out by 2028 and gas boilers by 2030.

The government is expected to bring forward the ban gas boilers on new homes from 2025 to 2023.

The government are also expecting us to eat 9% less meat by 2025 and 20% less by 2030 and also to reduce our consumption of dairy products by 20% over the next 10 years.

We will also be forced into exchanging our old petrol cars for overpriced electric vehicles, that’s assuming their will be any road space left on which to drive them!

This week, Boris Johnson is making last ditched attempt to secure a deal with the European Union. Personally, I think we will end up with a watered down, fudge of a deal we concessions being made on both sides.

The stock market went up on use of the vaccine but the pound went down on fears of a no deal Brexit!

The shops are booming it again following the end of the lockdown and supermarkets had the best month ever in November.

More articles and money news available at Money Tips Podcast - www.moneytipsdaily.com

·        Will stamp duty holiday be extended?

·        Biggest economic decline in 300 years

·        UK national debt now exceeds £2 Trillion

·        Government borrowing will reach £394bn

·        Average house prices reach an all time high

·        Thousands trapped in unsellable leasehold flats

·        Government extends ban on landlords evicting tenants

·        Why UK Property prices rising after stamp duty cut, despite the downturn?

·        New planning rules will open up more opportunities to make money in property

·        You can create a second income during the lockdown…and come out stronger

·        Learn how to make money from property without deposits, mortgages or cash

Millions of people face a bleak future post-Coronavirus lockdown, as businesses disappear and the job furlough scheme eventually comes to an end. However, life doesn’t have to end because of lockdown! You can join thousands of ordinary people who have increased their income and added streams of new income during this period.

Are you ready to adapt to the new economic model?

As lockdown restrictions around the world are being eased, the economic model has subtly changed forever. How will you adapt to this new way of working and running a business, what obstacles and opportunities lies ahead? Will you be a participant or spectator in this revolution?

By Charles Kelly, Wealth Mentor, Property Investor, Author of Yes, Money Can Buy You Happiness and creator of Money Tips Podcast.

There are more examples and practical steps to getting rich and being happy in my book, Yes, money can buy happiness, I cover the 3 R’s of Money Management, the Money B.E.L.I.E.F System and much more. Check it out on Amazon http://bit.ly/2MoneyBook.

If you’d like further information on wealth mentoring and coaching, how to survive the crisis and even quit the rat race, email me at Charles@CharlesKelly.net or send me a message through Facebook or my Money Tips Daily community. See more articles at www.moneytipsdaily.com


Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Last Chance To Claim Tax Allowances UK Tax Year Ends Tomorrow 5 April


The UK tax year ends tomorrow, 5 April 2018. If you're planning to make full use of your ISA or Pensions/SIPP (Self Invested Personal Pension) this year, you must act soon. I have been talking about this since February in my Money Tips Daily blog and Podcast, so don't say I didn't warn you!




There are hundreds of banks and pension providers out there. You can invest online or in the High Street branches, but you only have just over 24 hours left.

If you're not sure where to invest, there's a simple solution. You can just add cash to secure your ISA and SIPP allowances now and choose investments when you're ready.

As always, I'm giving you information, not offering advice, so take advice from an independent financial adviser and remember that investments can fall as well as rise in value so you could get back less than you put in.

Here are the basic rules for ISA’s and SIPPs.

ISA (INDIVIDUAL SAVINGS ACCOUNTS)

An ISA is simply a savings account where you can shelter up to £20,000 from UK tax as long as the money is held in the account and ISA wrapper. You can also invest funds into a ‘stocks and shares’ ISA, where your money is invested into shares or a fund holding shares. Again, the tax free wrapper applies, but the investments can fall as well as rise in value.

When I worked in the bank many years ago, some customers would have hundreds of thousands of pounds tied up in accounts which not only paid a low interest rates, but were also taxed. By simply moving their money into ISA’s they could avoid taxes forever on their savings and earn more money on their savings, as interest rates were also higher in the ISA accounts. 

Remember that banks have a habit of churning accounts and reducing the interest rate on those accounts making them effectively obsolete. Despite all the benefits, many of them would say “no, I’m happy where it is” and refuse to move their money!

If you had invested the maximum allowable amount each year into ISA’s or similar accounts since they were introduced you would now have over £1,000,000 in a tax free wrapper. It's also far less hassle when doing your tax returns.

The Stocks and Shares ISA allows you to invest in shares or funds which invest in the stock market on your behalf. These funds can go up or down and obviously carry more risk than a cash ISA. If you already own shares, it makes sense to shelter them in an ISA wrapper to avoid tax on dividends and CGT or capital gains tax.

Companies like Hargreaves Lansdown offer this ISA service and has a good online platform.
You can invest in an ISA by making regular monthly contributions or a single lump sum each year.

Check out the best deals online (e.g. at moneysavingexperts.co.uk or similar comparison sites) and now is the time to start shopping around rather than leaving it until the last minute and risk losing out.
 
In addition to the ISA allowance, all UK basic rate tax payers can now earn up to £1000 a year in interest without paying tax on it. With base lending rates standing at .5% as I write, you’d need quite a lot of money on deposit to earn £1000 of interest on your savings. Assuming a savings rate of .25%, you would have to have £400,000 on deposit in order to earn £1000 in interest.

ISA Features
  • Save tax - Grow your money free of UK income and capital gains tax (stocks and shares ISA)
  • Accessibility - although investing is best for the long term, you can take your money out whenever you need to
  • Wide investment choice - choose from deposit based ISA to thousands of managed funds, UK and international shares, investment trusts and more.
Tax rules can change and the benefits of investing in ISAs depend on your ongoing circumstances. 

SELF-INVESTED PERSONAL PENSION (SIPP)

A SIPP and most other approved pension schemes allows you to gain 20% tax relief on qualifying funds you invest into your pension plan. A SIPP generally gives you a wider choice of investments than a pension plan with a single pension provider.

SIPP Features
  • Save tax - Grow your money free of UK income and capital gains tax
  • Great value - 0.45% p.a. to hold your SIPP investments. 
  • Wide investment choice - choose from 2,500 funds, UK and international shares, investment trusts and more
Pensions are more complex and the right plan for you will depend on your circumstances, for instance, your tax status, age and whether you are employed, self employed or a company director. Seek advice.

Tax rules can change and the benefits of investing in a SIPP depend on your circumstances. At present, you can only access the money in a SIPP from age 55 (57 from 2028).

Business owners and the self employed should consult their accountants to see if they can make any last tax plans before the end of the tax year. After the year end might be too late to claim allowances against your profits. In my experience most accountants and reactive rather than proactive and only talk to you when it's all over, and then say "you could have done this or that last year...".

Bonus tip. Get into the habit of saving a percentage of your income no matter how small to start with. The sooner you start saving the better, as compound interest (interest on interest) will work in your favour. Albert Einstein described compound interest as one of the greatest forces on Earth.

Acton. See an independent financial advisor and do your own research online.

Check out my Podcast episode "Last. Chance To Claim UK Tax Allowances Tax Year Ends 05/04" on Anchor! https://anchor.fm/charles-kelly/episodes/Last--Chance-To-Claim-UK-Tax-Allowances-Tax-Year-Ends-0504-e19d1k. Also available on itunes.