Now that the New Year festivities are over, it is once again time to consider your year end tax planning. On this occasion, the spring Budget is likely to be less of an obstacle to planning than usual, because last November’s Pre-Budget Report (PBR) was more like a Budget in its own right. For instance, the PBR announcements have altered some traditional tax year end strategies. Your 2008/09 checklist should include:
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In January 2008, the Bank of England base rate was 5.5%. By 8 January 2009, it was just 1.5%, the lowest level since the Bank was created in 1694.1 The rate could fall further – the US already has virtually 0% rates.
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One surprise in the Pre-Budget Report on 24 November 2008 was the proposed increase in the income tax rate for those with income of more than £150,000 to 45% on the excess over that figure, to take effect from 6 April 2011.
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Last November’s Pre-Budget Report announced a variety of proposed changes to income tax and national insurance contributions (NICs) over the next three tax years:
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Pension Acts have become rather like London buses recently. After a gap from 1995, there have been three Pension Acts in the last five years. The most recent is the Pensions Act 2008, which makes three important changes:
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If you are a shareholder-director in your company with your spouse or civil partner, you might be thinking about declaring dividends at this time of year and taking advantage of certain tax-saving benefits.
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The latest round of state pension reforms as set out in November's Pre-Budget Report starts from 6 April 2009. If you are an employee:
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Do you know what the Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) is?
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The recent spate of mergers between building societies (eg the Cheshire and Derbyshire merger with Nationwide) has prompted a temporary change in the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) rules for deposits, announced by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in November 2008.
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From 6 April 2009, the inheritance tax (IHT) nil rate band will rise by £13,000 to £325,000. The increase, which was announced by Gordon Brown in his 2006 Budget, is less than would have occurred if the normal indexation rules had applied. However, the opposite is likely to be true in April 2010, when the nil rate band is set to reach £350,000.
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The fall in interest rates has not only been hitting the returns available from bank and building society deposits. National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has also been cutting its returns.
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