Interesting question this week from a couple who want to be able to leave any unspent balances in their pension pot to a friend when they are both gone: www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/pensio...
HMRC's independent Administrative Burdens Advisory Board has just posted its annual report with recommendations on improving tax for small business www.gov.uk/government/p...
The declining pay of the cabinet secretary, from @ukcivilservant.bsky.social
Similar for the whole civil service, see chart
Time to do something about the interrelated problems of CS pay, grade inflation and staff churn
RHS Wisley
With the help of my colleagues we've published a new briefing giving an overview of pensions in the UK, including key data on the new and old state pension and private (occupational and personal) pensions.
commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-bri...
I made a starter pack of all the amazing @instituteforgov.bsky.social experts I could find on here, that you need in your feed! go.bsky.app/EQy9vx9
I couldn't see an overall starter pack for FT journalists active on Bluesky. So given the recent influx of new people on here, I thought it'd be useful to make one.
Do shout out all the people I've inevitably missed and I'll update
go.bsky.app/FuqnwdD
Customer service apply-for-public-appointment.service.gov.uk/roles/8455
HMRC is seeking up to 10 people as independent advisors on 3 Board committees. The paid roles are 4-6 days annually and cover several different areas, including customer service, data and tax. Closing date is 24 November.
Closing the Tax Gap
apply-for-public-appointment.service.gov.uk/roles/8459
Chart showing tax paid on £50,000 of market income, by legal form
An unfortunate side effect of the Budget is the widening of one particular tax gap.
The tax due on £50k of work is now £5k higher for an employee (at £15k) than a self-employed worker (at £10k).
This could incentivise bogus self-employment, depriving the Treasury of revenue.
My latest for This is Money - explaining what the Budget changes mean for pensions and IHT: www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/pensio...
An investment nation?
The welcome boost to public investment, reversing planned cuts set out by previous Government, means Public Sector Net Investment will average 2.6% of GDP over 5 years. This would be highest 5-year average since 1980-81, bringing UK close to the OECD average.
Isn't it challenging to be the only major economy not allowing tax relief for interest? Won't that put off investors?
Maiden speech ✅
For new pensions people on BlueSky - welcome! Some ideas here for who to follow: go.bsky.app/VpP5UpD
But could the NHS consider paying part of earnings as non-pensionable - at a higher rate? This is what some in the private sector do, I think.
Thoroughly enjoyed this interview with the prize-winning documentary maker Norma Percy which explains how her distinctive approach- of getting key players to big events talk to the camera - developed, and how she gets them to talk.
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/a...?
Our new paper out today on the Chancellor’s Budget options on pension tax relief. We’re not convinced flat rate relief is on the table, but NI (at some rate) on employer contributions could well be: www.lcp.com/en/insights/...
The Chancellor announced yesterday that the tax minister, Exchequer Secretary James Murray will chair the board at HMRC to support implementing the government's priorities. www.gov.uk/government/n...
At 7.30pm on a Friday evening, DWP has just released it’s high level ‘impact assessment’ of the Winter Fuel Payment cut assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66e479...
Chart showing estimated ‘tax gap’ as a share of GDP: UK
There is currently a large estimated ‘tax gap’ – totalling around £40 billion in 2022-23.
This suggests there is scope to reduce the 'tax gap', as the Government has proposed, and the small business Corporation Tax gap deserves particular scrutiny given its recent rise.
https://buff.ly/3zeH0IJ
We're pretty certain to see tax rises in the new Chancellor's budget - since the 1990s, taxes have gone up by an average of £21bn over the first two fiscal events after an election.
So what taxes should the Chancellor look at?
Read more in our latest report ➡️ https://buff.ly/3zeH0IJ
The Kyiv Independent will launch a travel show called “Dare to Ukraine.” In each of the six episodes, host Masha Lavrova will travel to six regions across the country to explore the local culture, architecture, food, popular activities, people, and everyday life.
'Dare to Ukraine' - a new series exploring what it's like to visit Ukraine - from @kyivindependent.com www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYkR...
Latest post looks at the challenges facing the government’s defence review and the recurring dilemma of dealing with a challenging world with limited money. (£/free trial) open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/a...?
Made a starter pack of tax & public finance people as I hadn’t seen one on here - mainly names from the other place. Welcome suggestions for additions! go.bsky.app/Lo4XHFc
I’ve found out that DWP are waiting for over 1,800 ‘next of kin’ to reply to letters saying that underpaid state pension money may be owed. These letters arrive out of the blue, so people may be a bit suspicious but if they don’t reply, the govt keeps the money! inews.co.uk/inews-lifest...
Personally, if I really wanted to use tax relief to boost inadequate (DC) savings pots, I’d be much bolder and switch to £-for-£ matching of the first slice of DC contributions!
You know what’s nearly as exciting as a good chart? A deal. Great Britain? has been chosen for the Kindle Daily Deal - grab the ebook for £1.99 for the next few hours www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0CN...
Although 25/30% flat rate helps lower earners with inadequate savings? Problem with the tax free lump sum is the long gestation period, since no government has removed accrued benefits.
