When do you plan to stop working? Whatever answer you give, the recent survey of 2,000 people who were either due to retire in the next 12 months or have retired in the past 12 months suggests the odds are that your plans may not reach fruition.
Cast your mind back to the start of the year. The world was coming to terms with the latest Omicron variant of Covid, which was supposedly proving less serious than its predecessors. The latest available UK inflation figure (for November 2021) was 5.1% and the Bank of England had delivered an early Christmas present of a 0.15% rise in interest rates to 0.25%. Across the Atlantic, US inflation was higher at 6.8%, but the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, had delayed its first increase in interest rates. Investment markets had enjoyed a generally good 2021, particularly in the US, and while interest rate rises were expected in 2022, the post-pandemic investment outlook was reasonably sunny.
At the start of 2021, inflation measured by the CPI yardstick was running at a benign 0.7%, having been driven down by the impact of the pandemic. A year later, the rate had jumped to 5.5%, close to triple the Bank of England’s official target of 2%. Unfortunately, it won’t stop there:
Nearly 500,000 UK businesses should receive a tax cut worth up to £1,000 from this morning.
These tax tables are up-to-date with everything announced in the Winter Economy Plan 2021, Autumn Budget 2021, the Scottish and Welsh Budgets 2021 and the Spring Statement 2022, giving you all the key numbers in one place.
By the end of 2020, as the huge cost of the Covid-19 pandemic became clear, there was much discussion about the introduction of a wealth tax. It was given added impetus by the publication of a 126-page report from the Wealth Tax Commission, an independent think-tank launched in 2020.
The late May bank holiday will be moved to Thursday 2nd June and an additional bank holiday will take place on Fri 3rd June 2022 and applies to Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Just as inflation enjoyed an unexpected leap in 2021, so too did house prices. According to Nationwide, the average UK home rose in value by 10.4%, while Halifax put the increase at 9.8%. This has been the sharpest rise in house prices since 2004 although, as ever, the UK average figure hid significant regional differences. At the bottom rung of the property ladder, Halifax says that London prices rose by 4.2% - below inflation – while at the top, Wales saw prices rise by 15.8%. Nevertheless, the average London home still costs more than two and a half times its Welsh counterpart!
You may have caught the food campaigner Jack Monroe on TV and radio interviews recently highlighting how the uneven effects of inflation on the most basic foodstuffs can have a disproportionate effect on lower-income groups. Her intervention has prompted the ONS to look beyond the average in more detail at ‘individual inflation rates’.
New years are normally a cause – or excuse – for celebration, even if the pandemic has changed that in recent times. From a personal financial standpoint, this upcoming tax year may well offer more concern than celebration.
The extended wait highlights the difficulty of changing useful revenue-raising measures in uncertain times.
Cryptocurrencies, of which Bitcoin is the most famous (or notorious, depending on your viewpoint), are not currencies in a practical sense of the word. Think of the pound in your pocket:
2021 was a good year for most investors in share-based funds, particularly those who had holdings linked to the US market.
The 2021/22 tax year will end on Tuesday 5th April. This year there is no Spring Budget and Easter arrives on 15th April, so no obstacles stand in the way of year-end tax planning. Nevertheless, the sooner you start the better, as some decisions cannot be made quickly. Among the areas to consider on this occasion are:
The November inflation figures, released in mid-December, once again exceeded the Bank of England’s expectations. At the start of November, the BoE had said that CPI inflation was “expected to peak at around 5% in April 2022”. Six weeks later, and the tune has changed: “Bank staff expect inflation to remain around 5% through the majority of the winter period, and to peak at around 6% in April 2022”.
In 2020, global dividends fell by 11.9% yoy in USD terms according to an index calculated by the investment manager Janus Henderson. In the UK, dividends suffered a much greater drop, with a decline of 42.9% recorded by Link Group, a leading corporate services provider. The UK’s significant underperformance had much to do with the Bank of England forcing UK banks to suspend dividend payments.
Following consultation on research and development (R&D) relief, the Treasury has set out several changes, some of which Chancellor Rishi Sunak first introduced in his Autumn Budget speech back in October.
With the government's tax and spending plans set out for the year ahead, here is a quick summary of the key points:
The first CTFs matured just over a year ago, at the start of September 2020. CTFs will continue to mature until January 2029 as their owners reach the magic age of 18. At present, about 55,000 CTFs mature each month.
This increase comes as no surprise given booming property values and frozen nil rate tax bands. It seems the tax is no longer the preserve of the super-rich.
