A couple of other Statement Highlights (in my world, anyway). A welcome ‘nothing happened’ on the treatment of pensions on death. They were never going to be liable to IHT (too complicated with trusts and trust law) but there was talk of making them income-taxable on the recipients at whatever age you die. That seems, thankfully, to be out of the window. The pensions lifetime allowance, he says, will definitely go in the new tax year, although Labour have not changed their minds, it seems, about reinstating it if/when they get in. Whether they get around to it is another question. There are also new ISA rules and allowances. You’ll be able to invest in riskier stuff via ‘Innovative Finance ISAs’; but not via us, you’re on your own with those. And ‘savers will be allowed to have multiple subscriptions to the same type of ISA’ as well as ‘partial transfers between providers’. Another potential administrative nightmare for all concerned (including HMRC), I’d say.
“Raising IHT threshold could cost government £6bn”
Well, the lesson of this week in politics must be to expect the unexpected. Or, alternative interpretation, to expect more of the same. The speculation on the future of Inheritance Tax has switched from abolition to a rise in the amount of wealth you can have before the 40% payment hits.
