The recent ruling by the Upper Tribunal in favour of HMRC, with respect to tax relief for in-specie contributions, perhaps helps illustrate the complexity of tax legislation and the unintended tax traps your clients could face. The potential loss of in-specie tax relief, in some scenarios, could increase the overall tax bill for the individual. …

With CGT the subject of the Chancellor’s latest tax review, fears are that a tax hike is imminent. However, going by past OTS reports, Neil MacGillivray explains that it may not all be doom and gloom… The Office of Tax simplification (OTS) has been asked by the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, to review Capital Gains Tax …

Proposals to ease planning restrictions, where change of use is being considered, could cause some headaches for pension scheme administrators, as well as investors… From September it’s likely that a wider range of commercial properties will be allowed to convert to residential use, without the need for planning permission. Despite these Government proposals, it is …

This article was written and provided by the FCA New analysis as part of the regulators’ joint ScamSmart campaign reveals that it could take 22 years for a saver to build a pension pot of £82,000 – the average amount victims lost to scams in 2018. But despite this, many savers could be at risk …

I can’t believe that there is a TV channel dedicated to Christmas films over the summer. But maybe the season of goodwill has come early given Rishi Sunak’s Summer Economic Update, as it’s very much give, give, give – with no take, take, take, as there were no implied tax increases. Perhaps the most interesting …

The potential for moving pension rights back to the UK has become somewhat of a hot topic. Given the complexities of UK tax legislation, one of the many things advisers need to be aware of is the impact this could have on their clients’ lifetime allowance. A transfer of an individual’s rights under a registered …

No one likes to see the value of their investment portfolio fall. However, in every crisis there are opportunities, and I don’t mean the ridiculous mark ups on hand sanitiser that we saw. When markets have fallen, taking the opportunity of crystallising capital losses to set off against future gains may help ease the pain …

Retirement wealth planning platform, James Hay, has announced that Alex Kovach has joined the platform as its Chief Commercial Officer. Kovach joins from one of the leading D2C platforms, Interactive Investor (ii), where he led the commercial function for the past five years. During his time at ii, he was instrumental in the platform increasing …

In a surprising turn of events, HMRC won its appeal battle over tax relief being claimed on in-specie contributions. However, what was even more surprising, was the judge’s comments on HMRC’s pension tax manual and how in essence, the HMRC guidelines can be challenged…by HMRC themselves. As the caped crusader’s wingman would say, “You can’t …

It’s a difficult time. We all know that, and we’ve probably said these exact words to family, friends, clients and colleagues a thousand times already throughout this coronavirus crisis. Our lives are currently consumed with the developing situation we face, and it’s understandable that certain topics are not at the front of people’s minds. Sadly, …