So here’s a horny dilemma. The Lifetime Allowance was (mostly) abolished in the last Budget. I say mostly, because the limit on how much tax-free cash you can take from a pension is still in place as are one or two other, arguably anachronistic elements of one of the most complex elements of the extremely complex pension rulebooks. Labour famously and immediately said they would unabolish it, and as the headline affirms, most advisers believe them, or at least believe they’ll win the next election. So should we tell clients who have or may have pensions larger than the allowance as was, to take benefits they may not need while the going is good, perhaps worsening their tax position in other ways? Or follow the accepted wisdom, that you should only plan on the basis of the known, rather than the might be in the future? Damned if you do…
Inheritance Tax is in need of reform
Yes, Inheritance Tax is in need of reform, but then so is most of our ridiculously complex tax system. We tend to assume that ‘Death Duties’ are a relatively new, socialist tax intended to stop the landed gentry passing on their stately homes and estates and perpetuating their advantages.
