Wednesday March 21, 2012 at 9:31am
The news today is all about the budget. As promised in previous statements the BBC is reporting that the Chancellor will increase the personal allowance to £9,205, which might sound like good news but, read on.
The personal allowance trap is the little-known area of income tax quicksand, which progressively drags you under once your income exceeds £100,000. It creates a situation where individuals pay 60% income tax on some of their income.
How can this happen? It’s all dow....
Friday February 17, 2012 at 9:00am
Being in business is about facing challenges. You may have devised a growth strategy and know where you hope to be in, say, three years' time. But even the best strategy has two shadows looming over it: a struggling economy and the government. Broadly speaking, you can do little about the state of the economy. At best, you should remain positive and continue looking for opportunities. The shadow the government casts is a different matter. Government policies or inaction can hold you back. What y....
Thursday September 8, 2011 at 6:46pm
It is always frustrating when a client tells me of a financial transaction they have just completed without thinking to consider the tax implications first. In many ways it is not unreasonable for clients to assume that the transaction they are undertaking is straightforward and nothing can be done to improve it. However, there are a surprising number of ways to reduce tax that most people would know nothing about. Here are some examples:
Mitigate stamp duty on property purchases It is lega....
Friday August 19, 2011 at 2:47pm
Since the Finance Act receiving Royal Ascent on 19th July 2011 there’s been something of a rush in some quarters to check the effects on tax planning advice and tax planning schemes. Luckily the two leading UK providers of tax planning services that we work with were well ahead of the game and we’re able to talk with confidence to clients about our current tax planning options.
It did set me thinking however about how individuals and business owners can be sure they are getting the....
Thursday July 21, 2011 at 9:00am
You may have read about the tax planning carried out by UK PLCs to reduce their corporation tax bill and thought 'Why can't we do that?'
Well, maybe you can. You may not be able (or want) to commit to some of the cross border tax planning strategies that a much bigger, global business can. But there are simple tax planning strategies available to pretty much any business.
Firstly check whether you are making the most of your legitimate corporate tax reducing opportunities and, at the same ti....
Thursday July 14, 2011 at 9:00am
We can and frequently do help clients to mitigate Stamp Duty on purchase of a home or commercial premises. But when it comes to avoiding the Inheritance Tax (IHT) payable on the home on death, many clients seem to think there’s little they can do. With the rise in property prices and Inheritance Tax thresholds at £325,000 per person once the home is added to the estate many people find that Inheritance Tax will be due on death. This tax is gratefully received by HMRC, so much so they....