The latest Clay Shaw Butler Money Matters column from the Carmarthenshire Herald
By Mark Jones, director of Carmarthen-based Clay Shaw Butler chartered accountants and business consultants.
We’ve been busy dissecting and analysing the latest Budget in the ‘Money Matters’ column over the last two weeks.
And, for those of you who have not been paying attention, here are the main headline issues from Chancellor George Osborne’s Budget speech –
- reductions in the rates of capital gains tax
- introduction of a Lifetime ISA for under 40s
- changes to Entrepreneurs’ Relief
- abolition of Class 2 NIC
- reduction in the corporation tax rate
- reforms to corporate tax losses.
There are a number of key headings . . .
Help to Save
The government has announced the introduction of a new type of savings account aimed at low income working households.
Individuals in low income working households will be able to save up to £50 a month into a Help to Save account and receive a 50% government bonus after two years. Account holders can then choose to continue saving under the scheme for a further two years. The scheme will be open to all adults in receipt of Universal Credit with minimum weekly household earnings equivalent to 16 hours at the National Living Wage or those in receipt of Working Tax Credits.
Accounts will be available no later than April 2018.
Pensions consultation and reform
The government consultation ‘Strengthening the incentive to save’ looked at the way pensions are taxed. The consultation found that while the current system gives everyone an incentive to save into a pension, and people like the 25% tax free lump sum, it is also inflexible and poorly understood. Young people in particular are not saving enough, often because they feel they have to choose between saving for their first home and saving for retirement.
The Chancellor said in his speech:‘Over the past year we’ve consulted widely on whether we should make compulsory changes to the pension tax system. But it was clear there is no consensus.’
The Chancellor is introducing the Lifetime ISA as a vehicle for younger people to save.
Pensions advice
The Financial Advice Market Review (FAMR) aims to support the provision of affordable and accessible advice. FAMR was a joint review between the Financial Conduct Authority and Her Majesty’s Treasury, and its recommendations were published on 14 March 2016.
The government commits to implement all of the recommendations for which it is responsible, and will:
- Consult on introducing a single clear definition of financial advice to remove regulatory uncertainty and ensure that firms can offer consumers the help they need.
- Increase the existing £150 Income Tax and National Insurance relief for employer arranged pension advice to £500. The new exemption will ensure that the first £500 of any advice received is eligible for the relief. It will be available from April 2017.
- Consult on introducing a Pensions Advice Allowance. This will allow people before the age of 55 to withdraw up to £500 tax free from their defined contribution pension to redeem against the cost of financial advice. The exact age at which people can do this will be determined through consultation. This means that a basic rate taxpayer could save £100 on the cost of financial advice.
Phased rollout of Tax-Free Childcare
The government has announced it will introduce Tax-Free Childcare in early 2017. Tax-Free Childcare will be gradually rolled out to children under 12 with the parents of the youngest children being able to enter the scheme first. The scheme will be open to all eligible parents by the end of 2017.
The existing scheme, Employer-Supported Childcare, will remain open to new entrants until April 2018 to support the transition between the schemes.
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http://www.clayshawbutler.com/news/latest-news-for-business
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