Archive for December 2020
Not the Autumn Budget or the Autumn Statement
The Chancellor’s November ‘Financial Statement’ (not a Budget) revealed more spending and more government borrowing, but no mention of tax rises. The UK budgetary cycle is in something of a mess at present. In 2019, unusually the was no Budget thanks to December’s general election. For the same reason, the three-year Spending Review which should…
Read MoreWhen I’m 66 – the state pension age’s latest milestone
The latest phasing of State Pension Age (SPA) increase is now finished. On 6 October 2020, the SPA reached 66. Unless current legislation is changed, it will remain there until 6 April 2026, at which point the next increase, to age 67, starts to be phased in over the following two years. Thereafter the move to…
Read MoreInterest rates: continuing challenges in the search for income
Deposit rates are continuing to fall. On 24 November, the interest rate cuts that National Savings & Investments (NS&I) announced back in September took effect. The headline change was a drop in Income Bond rates from 1.15% to just 0.01%. Reports suggest that NS&I has seen predictably heavy outflows, although savers have struggled to find…
Read MoreCapital gains tax: increases on the way?
A recent report could herald changes to capital gains tax. Last July the Chancellor asked the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) to undertake a review of capital gains tax (CGT) “in relation to individuals and smaller companies”. The request was something of a surprise for two reasons. Firstly, there had been no suggestion that Mr…
Read MoreFireworks in November
November was an exciting month for the world’s stock markets. November was an exhilarating month on the world’s stock markets. It cannot be said that many experts – bar room or otherwise – expected it look like this. Cast your mind back to Halloween and, apart from trick or treat, there was plenty to be…
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