In mid-May 2024, the Dow Jones Index crossed the 40,000 threshold for the first time. You might have noted headlines in May that the Dow Jones Index of US shares had broken through the 40,000 mark for the first time. It may have sounded like a significant landmark,...
A useful new web tool has emerged, a little late in the game, in a joint effort from two government departments. In early 2023, HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) found they were unable to cope with the volume generated by a 5 April cut-off date that...
Gold is having its day in the sun, but for how long? Long before Bitcoin was even a twinkle in the eye of its alleged inventor, Satoshi Nakamoto, there was gold. If you did not trust rulers, institutions or paper money, gold was what you owned to protect your...
The fees for obtaining probate in England and Wales have increased. The fee charged to obtain probate in England and Wales has been increased from £273 to £300 (10%) and for confirmation in Scotland, which has a sliding scale by 2%. Northern Ireland revised its...
National Savings provides a glimpse of the new bond promised in the Spring Budget. Jeremy Hunt’s Spring Budget had an emphasis on Britishness with talk of “the great British pub”, ‘the British ISA’ (now a UK ISA) and ‘Great British Nuclear’. Included on the list of...
With allowances frozen or cut, you may have underpaid tax for 2023/24. Your tax position may have changed for the last year without you really noticing. Consider the following: *£1,000 for basic and nil rate taxpayers, £500 for higher rate taxpayers, and nil for...
Many women born in the 1950s should be paid compensation for a shortfall in their pensions according to a new report. The WASPI (Women Against State Pension Inequality) campaign has been running for nine years. In that time, it has consistently argued that women born...
Pension Dashboard Programme Delayed… 12 June 2023 was a day of procrastination for the new Pensions Dashboard Programme, with a new deadline set for 2026. “[The Treasury] should challenge the industry to make a pensions dashboard available to consumers by 2019,...
Not That Interested: savers short-changed on rate hikes. The Bank of England has been looking at the impact of its regular interest rate increases since December 2021, with analysis revealing savers are being short-changed. Every three months the Bank of England...
FCA Takes on Crypto: handle with great care The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recently announced a plan for tougher regulations of cryptoassets, such as Bitcoin. Recently published research undertaken for the FCA showed that in August 2022, nearly five million UK...
Tax is too complicated… say the legislators A parliamentary committee has been examining efforts to simplify tax, but progress is still a long way off. Among other things, last year’s ill-fated ‘mini-Budget’ was notable for the swiftness with which Jeremy Hunt...
The Chancellor’s national insurance contribution (NICs) ‘giveaway’ is no match for his income tax ‘takeaway’. The central surprise in Jeremy Hunt’s second Autumn Statement was a major reduction in NICs. • For employees From 6 January 2024, the main class 1...
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