Blog

289 – WHAT PRICE OUR TAX RELIEFS?

When you look at your annual tax statement, have you ever wondered about the overall cost of the tax reliefs you enjoy? HMRC has published its latest annual assessment of the cost of various tax reliefs, and there are some eye-opening numbers. If you were the Chancellor of the Exchequer, looking for a way to…

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MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The PPM doors are now closed for another year. We will reopen on Monday January 6th. Thank you to you all for your support, over the last 12 months. 2020 promises to be an exciting year, and we look forward to sharing these changes with you in 2020. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas…

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284 – NEW THINKING FOR LABOUR ON TAXES?

New proposals for reforming capital gains and income tax have been published by an influential think tank which could make their way into an election manifesto. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) is “the UK’s pre-eminent progressive think tank”, according to its website. This may sound like boasting, but it is probably a fair…

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280 – ANNUITY RATES HIT 25 YEAR RECORD LOW

Annuity rates hit their lowest level since 1994 in September, with implications for those making retirement decisions. Since the introduction of pensions flexibility in 2015, annuities have become much less popular as a way of converting a pension fund into income. The most recent figures from the Financial Conduct Authority show that over five times…

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278 – CRACKING DOWN ON COMPLIANCE PAYS FOR HMRC

New figures show HMRC’s “customer compliance” efforts are yielding substantial sums. In early August, HMRC issued its annual report and accounts for 2018/19. While not everyone’s choice of holiday reading, it did contain some eye-opening information about the “compliance yield” - how much HMRC raised from its work in countering tax avoidance schemes, tax evasion…

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275 – A BUMPY RIDE FOR AUGUST ON THE MARKETS

Stock markets, as well as some family holidaymakers, experienced a roller coaster August. The traditional holiday month proved to be anything but quiet on the world’s investment markets. Inevitably the downward trends attracted more attention, particularly the fall in US share values on 13 August. “Dow drops 800 points” is a headline that newspaper editors…

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274 – MONEY PURCHASE ANNUAL ALLOWANCE PENALTIES

A Freedom of Information (FoI) request has revealed a gap in HMRC’s knowledge about how many people have been hit with penalties around the annual allowance. The annual allowance, which effectively sets the tax-efficient ceiling on annual pension contributions, used to be a subject of little interest, even among pension professionals. When it started life…

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