Blog

For those readers interested in financial news (some might call it noise), the unfolding story of Chinese property developer Evergrande (a name which is ironic given its dire financial position) has spooked global equity markets.    The short version of the story is that the company is very highly leveraged i.e. it has borrowed US$300 […]

New HMRC statistics show the lifetime allowance continues to be a useful revenue earner for HM Treasury, but rumoured cuts at the next Budget could be a concern for soon-to-be retirees.  In the March Budget, the Chancellor announced that he would be freezing the pension lifetime allowance (LTA) at its 2020/21 level of £1.0731 million […]

A recent Upper Tribunal case has raised questions about HMRC’s approach to collecting tax on child benefit.   Child benefit tax, or the High-Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) to use its legal name, has a chequered history. The HICBC was introduced in January 2013 as a mechanism for clawing back child benefit from high-income couples, […]

National Savings & Investments has announced details of a new green savings product.  One of the small surprises in March’s Budget was the announcement that National Savings & Investments (NS&I) would be launching “a new, retail savings product to give all United Kingdom savers the chance to support green projects”. No further information was given […]

A proposal to address social care funding is apparently imminent.  “My job is to protect you or your parents or grandparents from the fear of having to sell your home to pay for the costs of care. And so I am announcing now – on the steps of Downing Street – that we will fix […]

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has given Rishi Sunak its new worry list. It gives the Chancellor little wriggle room for potential Budget generosity. Every alternate year the OBR must issue a Fiscal Risks Report (FRR). Unlike the six-monthly economic outlooks the OBR produces for Budgets and (theoretically) Spring Statements, the FRR takes a […]