With an economy that is growing faster than the OBR had originally forecast, unemployment down and reductions in the UK headline and structural deficits, at last, 5 years into his reign, the Chancellor had the chance to offer up a rewarding Budget and perhaps secure the votes of pensioners and savers alike.
As with any Budget, there were winners and losers and I have highlighted below some of the areas that are most likely to affect you, your family and your business:
- Personal allowances for 2014/15 are already at £10,000. From 2015/16 this will increase by £500 to £10,500.
- Transferable tax allowances for Married couples and Civil Partners, up to £1050 of personal allowances.
- Tax restrictions on pensioners’ access to their pension pots to be removed, ending the requirement to buy an annuity.
- Taxable part of pension pot taken as cash on retirement to be charged at normal income tax rate, down from 55%. Increase in total pension savings people can take as a lump sum to £30,000.
- Petrol duty increase scheduled for September has been cancelled.
- Duty on Scotch whisky and certain cider duties frozen; beer duty cut by 1p a pint but put the price of cigarettes has gone up.
- All long-haul flights to carry a lower rate of air duty currently charged on flights to US.
- Stamp duty on homes worth more £500,000 to rise to 15% for those bought by companies, as part of tax avoidance measures.
- Cash and Share ISAs to be merged into a single New ISA with an annual tax-free savings limit of £15,000 from 1 July. The limit for Junior ISAs will be raised to £4,000.
- A new Pensioner Bond, paying market leading rates to be available from January to all people over 65, with interest rates of 2.8% for one-year bonds and 4% for three-year bonds.
- Corporation Tax changes bring an increase to the Annual Investment Allowance to £500,000.
- SME’s R&D tax credit to increase from 11% to 14.5%.
- Seed Enterprise Investment Schemes, previously announced as a temporary measure, are to be made a permanent investment opportunity.
More in depth details can be found by downloading one of our PDF booklets here:
There have been quite a lot of changes announced and we are sure that more comprehensive detail will emerge as the Finance Bill moves through Parliament over the next couple of months.
If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me on 0161 703 2500 or by e-mail: gill.molloy@championgroup.co.uk.
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