January 2009 (42 articles)

Categories: All News, Tax News

Were you a winner or a loser?
The Chancellor’s message as he delivered his second Pre-Budget Report was to ’spend, spend, spend’, at least for the rest of this year, to benefit from the reduced 15 per cent VAT rate.

Categories: All News, Financial News

In general, savings rates are now lower compared with last year
It’s an unfortunate fact that any interest rate cuts, although welcome news for borrowers and the business community, are the curse of savers, many of whom have been disadvantaged by higher rates of inflation.

Categories: All News, Financial News

Cost-effective solutions for today’s challenging business environment
Implementing a successful employee benefits package should not only enable your business to meet its legal obligations in respect of making pension schemes available, it could also help to increase your successes when looking to recruit the best people.

Categories: All News, Financial News

Lowest levels for over 50 years
Interest rates were cut to their lowest level in over 50 years on Thursday 6 November when the Bank of England cut its official rate by 1.5 percentage points to 3 per cent, a cut three times larger than any seen since the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee was established in 1997. This was followed by another 1 per cent reduction on Thursday 4 December, bringing the rate down to 2 per cent, a level not seen since 1951, when Winston Churchill was in office.

Categories: All News, Financial News

Sheltering your returns from tax
As we enter a New Year, the tax clock is ticking and the countdown to the end of the financial year on 5 April approaches with increased vigour. If appropriate to your situation, one way in which you could hold a wide range of investments and shelter your returns from tax is to take advantage of an Individual Savings Account (ISA).

Categories: All News, Financial News

All change for the UK equity income and growth sector
Following a review of its UK Equity Income sector, the Investment Management Association (IMA) is splitting the sector and providing a new definition for the new IMA UK Equity Income and Growth sector.

Categories: All News, Financial News

Report highlights the need for improvements to the UK tax regime
A report reviewing the competitiveness of London’s financial centre, produced for the Mayor of London, highlights the need for improvements to the UK tax regime if London is to compete on a level playing field with centres like Dublin and Luxembourg which have succeeded in attracting funds away from the UK.  The investment industry is already working with government on a package of tax measures designed to enhance the competitiveness of UK authorised funds and make the UK a more attractive domicile for funds.

Categories: All News, Financial News

A wide-ranging package
Small business received a wide-ranging package of extra finance, including a scheme to spread tax payments and a new three-year loss carry-back rule for losses up to £50,000. In addition, the increase in small companies’ rate to 22 per cent is deferred for a year, to 2010.

Categories: All News, Tax News

Proposals welcomed to provide certainty on UK funds’ tax
HM Treasury released on 16 December 2008 three sets of proposals on fund tax reform and a further consultation on changes to the tax regime for listed investment companies.

Categories: All News, Tax News

A solution for your specific requirements and financial objectives?
Unlike a traditional personal pension, a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) may offer for appropriate investor’s far greater flexibility in terms of the assets that can be held within its wrapper. A SIPP enables investors to spread investment risk across various asset options, but also to select investments that meet any specific requirements and financial objectives set.