Company News
23rd Apr 2010 - Review of the March Budget 2010
Review of the March Budget 2010
24/03/10
The Chancellor, Alistair Darling, has published his 2010 Budget. Below you will find a summary of the main announcements.
Personal pensions tax relief
In their April 2009 Budget, the Government announced that with effect from 6th April 2011, tax relief on pension contributions would be restricted for those with gross income in excess of £150,000. These are referred to as the 'permanent changes'.
The Act also included 'anti-forestalling restrictions' to prevent higher earners from paying unusually large pension contribution to take advantage of current tax benefits prior to the permanent changes coming into play in 2011.
Alongside the March 2010 Budget, the Government has outlined its plans for introducing these changes.
Change to Personal Allowance
In April 2009 Budget the Government announced that with effect from 6th April 2010 individuals receiving an income of more than £100,000 per year would face a cut in their Personal Allowance. This would reduce by £1 for every £2 of income above £100,000.
This was restated in the March 2010 Budget.
New 'additional rate' band of tax
In April 2009 Budget the Government announced that it would be introducing a new 50% rate of tax on income above £150,000 from April 2010.
This was restated in the March 2010 Budget.
Inheritance Tax
The nil rate band of Inheritance Tax will be frozen at £325,000 until 2014/2015.
Stamp Duty Allowance
For first time buyers Stamp Duty Allowance will double from £125,000 to £250,000 (from midnight on 24th March).
This is anticipated to be funded by a new 5% band of tax being introduced in the 2011/12 tax year on properties sold for £1,000,000 +.
Capital Gains Tax
The current CGT rate remains unchanged. However, Entrepreneurs' Relief for CGT will be extended from £1m to the first £2m of qualifying gains made over a lifetime. This takes effect from April 2010.
Income Tax
No changes to basic and higher rates, however from April 2010 there will be an additional rate band of tax (see above).
Annual ISA limit
As announced earlier, for savers, from April the annual ISA limit will rise from £7,200 to £10,200. Future ISA limits will be indexed by RPI.
Winter Fuel Payments
The Government will guarantee payments for another year - this will be at least £250 for pensioners (£400 for those over-80).
Business Rates
Business rates will be cut for one year from October for SME’s (Small and Medium Enterprises).
Tax credit
Individuals over the age of 60 will now be eligible for Working Tax Credit provided they work for at least 16 hours a week.
National Insurance
In the March 2010 Budget it was restated that employee, employer and self-employed rates of National Insurance contributions (NIC’s) will increase by 0.5% from April 2011 in addition to the 0.5% increase announced in 2008.
However the level at which people start to pay NIC’s will increase in April 2011 by £570 above the level previously announced.
29th Jan 2010 - Director wins National Award ..Again!
For the second year running Ralph Zoing of Marshall Zoing Ltd, Harrogate based Wealth Managers, successfully predicted the world’s best and worst performing markets in a national competition run by F&C Investments annually. Back in January 2009, at the F&C investment conference held at Rudding Park, and with the world seemingly stood at the edge of a financial precipice, Zoing accurately predicted what looked then to be an extremely unlikely turnaround for financial markets. He pinpointed Global Emerging Markets as the likely top performer of the year and suggested that Japan would be the worst performer of 2009. These predictions followed his successful nomination of Japanese outperformance in 2008. Of all the competition entrants, Ralph Zoing's prediction skills and asset selection have again proven to be the most accurate – To win the competition once is impressive, but to do it again proves that it was not a fluke. It is an especially impressive feat given that we’ve just been through one of the most turbulent financial episodes in history. What are Marshall Zoing predicting this year?
BBC News
31st Jul 2010 - Interns are 'entitled to be paid'
Many young people working free as interns may legally be entitled to pay, a report says.
31st Jul 2010 - Addresses set to lose county name
Counties appear set to be dropped from postal addresses in future years after complaints about out-of-date names.
30th Jul 2010 - US economic growth slows to 2.4%
US economic growth slowed between April and June, with GDP growing by an annualised rate of 2.4%, the US Commerce Department says.
30th Jul 2010 - Strikes and ash extend BA losses
BA reveals a steep quarterly loss of £164m after being hit by cabin crew strikes and disruption caused by the volcanic ash cloud.
30th Jul 2010 - Northwest agrees to pay $38m fine
Northwest Airlines will plead guilty and pay a $38m fine for fixing air-cargo prices, the US justice department says.
© BBC 2010
FT Business News
30th Jul 2010 - Lloyds to lead way with £1bn in profits
The fortunes of Britain's biggest banks have undergone a startling turnround, with profit growth at state-backed Lloyds set to eclipse that of the former industry star Barclays when first-half results are disclosed next week
30th Jul 2010 - Banking recovery brings threat of backlash
The part-nationalised bank are expected to report marked improvements in interim reports. But the revival in their fortunes risks fuelling the political row about the broader role of banks in a society facing austerity
© The Financial Times Ltd 2010
FT Financial Services News
31st Jul 2010 - The banking resurgence that could yet lead to a fall
Banks have regained their pricing power, yet storm clouds loom in the shape of a multitude of regulatory probes that could cut them down to size, writes Mark Kleinman
31st Jul 2010 - Auditors' role in crisis under scrutiny
The Financial Reporting Council will look into the lessons learnt from the credit crisis with the launch of a new inquiry into the audit and accounting profession's work with non-financial companies
© The Financial Times Ltd 2010
Disclaimer: We offer these feeds provided by various third parties purely for convenience. We neither endorse or accept responsibility for the content or reliability of any information contained in the feeds or third party websites.
