The Conservative Party has said that it will exempt all properties worth less than £1 million from inheritance tax, should it win the next election.
Chancellor George Osborne said that the move will support our basic human need to provide for our children. It will mean that more homeowners are able to pass their homes on to their children without paying tax.
The Labour party said that the Conservatives have made similar promises before and failed to deliver. Deputy leader, Harriet Harman, said that as the election approaches, it was becoming clearer that the Conservatives stood to benefit the well off, whereas Labour wanted everyone to be better off.
Independent economists said that raising the level at which properties qualify for inheritance tax in this way will disproportionately benefit the wealthy and push up property prices still further.
The Labour Party has said that it will raise £7.5 billion by fining tax avoiders and closing tax loopholes should it win the coming general election. Shadow Chancellor, Ed Balls, said that his party will carry out an immediate review of tax collection in order to close all existing loopholes, if Labour wins the election in May. They promised to increase and strengthen HM Revenue and Customs’ powers to collect taxes. They will also change rules that enable private equity managers to avoid income tax and hedge funds to sidestep stamp duty.
The Conservatives have said that they will raise £5 billion from tax avoiders but have not yet said how this will be done.
Director of Institute for Fiscal Studies, Paul Johnson, said that both parties are guilty of making up numbers. Neither party can actually know how much money can be raised by cracking down on tax evasion, he added.
Inflation in the UK remained at 0 per cent, a record low, during March, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.
The 0 per cent rate was maintained for a second month by a drop in prices of clothes and footwear and a rise in petrol prices.
The figure was calculated using the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) and was the lowest inflation rate since the measure was first introduced during the late 1980s.
A 0 per cent inflation rate means that the cost of living has not risen during the last twelve months. However, the ONS has said that when inflation is calculated to two decimal places, prices are actually 0.01 per cent lower than they were a year ago, a fall for the first time in the CPI’s history.
Rising diesel and petrol prices have meant that inflation has remained relatively stable during February and March, although falling fuel prices have been largely responsible for low inflation over the past year.
The CPI figure for inflation is well below the government’s target rate of 2 per cent.
Experts speculate that the rate could fall still further in the coming of months although few predict that the UK will see a similar level of inflation to that of the Japanese economy. Rain Newton-Smith, director of economics at CBI business group, believes that inflation will begin to rise again during the second half of this year, particularly once fuel prices begin to recover.
Senior economic advisor, Martin Beck, said that he expected the Bank of England to wait until early 2016 before it raised interest rates.
An alternative method for calculating inflation is the Retail Price Index, which includes rises and falls in mortgage repayments, retail goods and services. The RPI also fell during March, down to 0.9 per cent, from 1 per cent in February.
Wages are being driven up by a lack of skilled workers in the UK today, according to a new report.
Almost a third of recruiting agencies have said that starting salaries are increasing, says KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).
Wage growth is strongest in the Midlands and the south of England, where the availability of suitable candidates for jobs continues to fall.
Skills shortages are a particular problem in nursing, health care and teaching.
The chief executive of REC, Kevin Green, said that almost one in three recruiters is reporting an increase in starting salaries compared with last month. There has also been a rise in the number of people successfully finding work via a recruiting agency. In the north west of England, 45 per cent of recruiting agencies surveyed by KPMG and REC said that there had been a sharp increase in the number of permanent staff appointments made.
People are feeling more confident about finding work and also about changing jobs, as they seek higher salaries. Higher salaries are being offered because of a widespread shortage of skills. Kevin Green warned that businesses will have to work hard to retain their skilled staff in the future.
Shortages are being most keenly felt in the public sector, with teachers, nurses and other health care workers in particularly short supply, for both temporary and permanent positions.
Mr Green added that politicians are debating immigration and education in the run up to the election and need to be aware that the current skills shortage is likely to have a significant impact upon the UK’s economic growth.
Bernard Brown of KPMG said that demand for talent continues to outstrip the number of candidates seeking employment and that this skills shortage is likely to slow down UK economic growth if it is allowed to continue at its current rate.
The government backed pension bond scheme announced by the government last March will be extended to the end of May, George Osborne has said.
Under the scheme, pensioners have, since January, been able to buy bonds that offer competitive interest rates of up to 4 per cent.
The Chancellor said that the scheme is being extended to May because it has been ‘immensely successful and popular.’ The deadline for buying pension bonds will now be one week after the general election.
More than 600,000 people over the age of 65 have already signed up and £1 billion were sold in the first two days of the scheme alone.
The one year bond available pays an annual interest rate of 2.8 per cent, while the three year bond pays 4 per cent. Interest will be added annually on the anniversary of the investment. Pensioners are limited to investing £10,000 in each bond, an individual limit of £20,000.
The best one year bond available to everyone is currently offering 1.85 per cent interest and the best three year bond pays 2.5 per cent, 1.5 per cent below the pension bond.
National Savings and Investments currently offer up to £10 billion worth of bonds but George Osborne said that this will be extended to £15 billion.
The scheme is not without its critics, however. Some experts have been saying that it is not fair that younger people are subsidising a scheme from which only well-off pensioners can benefit.
Director General of the Institute for Economic Affairs, Mark Littlewood, said that the scheme proves that the British public is not ‘all in it together.’ Pension bonds are nothing more than a gimmick, he said, that benefits wealthy pensioners at the expense of the working age population.
Evolution Money are once again celebrating today after impressively scooping their second award so far this year, and winning the coveted Financial Reporter Awards, Best Secured Loan Lender 2015.
Rhian Roberts, Head of Evolution Money Broker Division commented:
‘What a fantastic result for Evolution Money to be awarded Best Secured Loan Lender of the Year in this year’s Financial Reporter awards. This award once again proves that our robust stress testing, responsible lending and dynamic product mix is very highly thought of throughout the industry. A huge thank-you to all our brokers and introducers who have voted for us, it truly is an a amazing result’
The significant accolade which garners votes from industry peers and professionals alike not only recognises top-notch excellence across the lending arena but how important and well-respected Evolution Money has become within the industry over the past four years. Offering a wide-ranging suite of secured loan products which match customers’ needs and requirements, Evolution Money has grown significantly to be a key player in the second charge sector.
Earlier on in the year the specialist lender won Best Adverse Secured Loan Product of the Year 2014 at this year’s Loan Talk Secured Loan Awards. Today’s award follows on from last year’s 2014 Financial Reporter Awards where Evolution Money received a Highly Commended rosette as Best Specialist Lender.
Operations Director Kerriann Turtill said about winning the award:
“Once again Evolution Money continue to stand-out as a market leader. These awards are key industry benchmarks which recognise our innovative approach, and we are very excited and proud to have won Best Secured Loan Lender 2015. Relationships with our partners are important to us – We know our products meet the needs of ours and our broker partners’ customers, and the award is key to acknowledging that as it was voted for by our industry peers and professionals which we work with on a daily basis’’
The winners’ presentation ceremony will take place on 19th May 2015, at Manchester Museum of Science & Industry. Attended by this year’s victors, runner-ups and industry professionals, the event should prove to be an evening to remember.
For a full list of all the winners please go tohttp://www.financialreporter.co.uk/awards/winners-2015/
Chancellor George Osborne has said that the Conservative Party has no plans to lower the top taxation rate should they win the next election. The Labour Party accused him, however, of refusing to rule such a move out.
Labour called on the government to promise that it will not cut the highest rate of taxation, which is currently 45 per cent for those who earn more than £150,000 per year. The Coalition government reduced the top rate from 50 per cent to 45 per cent in 2013.
Ed Balls, the shadow chancellor for the Labour party, criticised Osborne’s refusal to say categorically that he will not cut the top rate.
George Osborne was speaking to Sky News when he said that it is not ‘our plan’ to introduce a five per cent cut to the highest taxation rate. When asked if he was prepared to rule out such a cut explicitly, he replied that the Conservative Party planned to increase the tax free personal allowance to £12,500, so that people who work full-time for the minimum wage will not have to pay tax. He also said that his party intends to increase the amount people must earn before they pay the higher tax rate of 40 per cent, to £50,000. It is currently at £42,400.
David Cameron said that a cut to the top rate is not part of their policy or plan. The Labour Party has made a commitment to re-introduce the 50 per cent top taxation rate, should it win the next election, for people earning more than £150,000. It has also pledged to cut and then freeze taxation rates for small businesses.
Both the Liberal Democrats and Labour have promised to introduce a mansion tax on homes with a value of more than £2 million.
British households are overpaying for their energy consumption according to a number of comparison websites. Sites, such as Uswitch.com, energyhelpline.com and theEnergyShop.com, have said
that household energy bills should fall by at least £140 a year for standard tariff customers but the six main electricity and gas suppliers are not passing on the recent drop in energy prices.
Chancellor, George Osborne, has said that the big six energy companies should bring down their customers’ bills and they will be subject to a Treasury investigation if they do not.
Petrol retailers have also been criticised for their reluctance to share the new lower prices of fuel with their customers.
So far, none of the six main energy companies has cut its standard tariffs, which are used by the vast majority of UK households. Customers typically pay £1,200 per annum for their gas and electricity. Smaller suppliers, however, are now offering new customers tariffs costing less than £900 per year. The cost of wholesale gas has fallen by thirty per cent since the summer and the cost of electricity by fifteen per cent.
Joe Malinowski of price comparison website, TheEnergyshop.com, said that if the drop in fuel prices was passed onto UK customers, households would see a saving of at least £140 each year. Customers currently following a standard tariff may be able to save as much as £320 per year, if they switch suppliers.
Tom Lyon, of uSwitch.com, said that it is now high time one of the big six dropped their standard tariff in order to encourage the others to do so. He added that they are always very quick to raise their prices and it is very disappointing that they are not similarly quick off the mark to lower them. Mark Todd, of energyhelpline.com agreed, saying that customers are being punished for staying loyal to an energy supplier.
While the economic well-being of UK households has improved, it is still not significantly better than it was five years ago, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS).
Using a new set of measures, ONS is able to measure economic well-being as well as economic growth.
Real Household Disposable Income (RDHI) increased 1.9 per cent per head during 2014. However, this was only up by 0.2 per cent on the figure for the second quarter of 2010, five years ago.
Real Household Disposable Income is the measure favoured by Chancellor George Osborne. It records household income after tax, adjusted for inflation.
According to the Office of National Statistics, adults are also feeling more optimistic about their household finances.
In December 2014, the ONS reported a figure of -5.2, which meant that the number of people who reported feeling optimistic about their personal finances was just outweighed by the number who felt that their finances were worsening. However, the year before that figure was -7.6.
According to the ONS, household spending has also increased. Real household spending, adjusted for inflation, rose by 0.3 per cent during 2014 and by 3 per cent since May 2010, when the current coalition government came to power.
These measures for quantifying economic well-being were first suggested by economist and Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz, who said that it was important to look at individual household finances as well as the economy as a whole.
According to Stiglitz, measuring Gross Domestic Product alone is problematic. It records the depreciation of cars, for example, which is not usually connected with worsening household finances. Furthermore, not all of the GDP goes to UK nationals. Some is taken by investors from overseas and some UK residents receive income from foreign investments. Finally, GDP goes up as the population increases and so should be calculated per head.
Cases of online banking fraud rose by 48 per cent during 2014 as more and more consumers choose to carry out their banking via the internet.
According to Financial Fraud Action the rise is due to an increase in the distribution of computer malware and to people being conned into giving their personal details to fraudsters.
Firms are also more likely to become victims of fraud, often losing large amounts of money.
£60 million was lost fraudulently last year but, says the FFA, this is a “relatively modest” amount given that over half of all adults in the UK use online banking facilities.
Overall customers lost a total of £479 million through fraudulent use of their bank cards. This was a six per cent increase on the previous year, 2013.
Customers who lose money via their bank card are eligible for a full refund unless it can be established that they have been negligent.
Judith Donovan, from action group Keep Me Posted, said that the sharp increase in online fraud shows that customers must be given the option of going into a bank to conduct their financial transactions, should they wish. Banks are encouraging their customers to bank online for convenience but crime in this area is increasing. This is a particular concern for those groups who are not familiar with online banking technology and feel vulnerable.
Whilst online fraud has increased, the overall amount is down by 21 per cent from its peak of £609.9 million in 2009. Keep Me Posted suggests that this is because banks have increased levels of security. Fraudsters are now concentrating on tricking individuals into giving them their bank details through email and telephone scams.
The campaign group is calling for the government to raise awareness of fraud and to encourage consumers to use the latest anti-virus software which is often available from their banks, free of charge.
The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, RICS, has said that the dip in housing market activity and the slowing down in property price rises in many areas will not last long.
Demand for housing has slowed for the fourth month in a row in most regions of England and Wales. Consequently, the number of sales fell in every area except Humberside, Yorkshire and south west England.
RICS says that it is confident that the market will improve in ‘the medium term.’ Simon Rubinsohn is the chief economist at RICS. He said that the current slowdown is due to buyers exercising more caution since the rules surrounding mortgage applications were tightened. It also likely to be caused by some concerns that interest rates may rise before the next election, in May 2015.
The housing market in Scotland, however, is very different, RICS has said, and is experiencing a ‘post referendum bounce.’ The market in Northern Ireland is also continuing with its recovery.
With unemployment down and wages finally on the rise, RICS believes that the slowdown the housing market, which the rest of the UK is currently experiencing, will be short lived.
According to data from the Office for National Statistics, unemployment fell by 115,000 during the third quarter, June to September. Wages have risen by 1.3 per cent in the past twelve month period. Howard Archer, chief of IHS Global Insights, said that the slight rise in wages really began as recently as September, calling the increase a much needed step in the right direction.
The Bank of England’s deputy governor, Ben Broadbent, said that he expected wages to continue to outpace inflation at least until late spring of next year. Inflation may fall to 1 per cent, he said, whilst wages may increase by 3 per cent.
For a typical loan of £30,000.00 over 120 months with a variable interest rate of 19.56% per annum, your monthly repayments would be £598.34.
Including a Product Fee of £2,400.00 (8% of the loan amount) and a Lending Fee of £807.00, the total amount repayable is £71,800.20.
Annual Interest Rates ranging from 11.88% to 29.38% (variable). Maximum 50.00% APRC. The loan must be paid back by your 70th birthday. Read more.
Think carefully before securing debts against your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or any other loan secured against it. If you are thinking of consolidating existing borrowing, you should be aware that you may be extending the terms of the debt and increasing the total amount you repay.
