private client newsletter - winter 09

The Chancellor announced in the April Budget that the higher rate of tax would increase to 50% in April 2010. There was a hope that this may not apply if there was a change in Government. However, the party conference season has destroyed this hope as all parties now seem to be prepared to leave the 50% top rate in place at least in the medium term.

We have therefore focussed in this newsletter on possible ways of mitigating this higher level of tax. It should be noted, however, that there are suggestions that the Pre-Budget Report in late Autumn will introduce provisions designed to prevent such mitigation. We shall have to see what the Chancellor has in mind, but many of these ideas are not new and amount to fairly standard planning which has been acceptable in the past.

We have also highlighted in this briefing the new offshore disclosure facilities. According to statements from HM Revenue & Customs this is the last time that such an ‘amnesty’ is to be offered so if you are still not disclosing in full any offshore income or gains now is the time to ‘come clean’.

tax partner | 020 7969 5520
agregory-jones@haysmacintyre.com

To view the articles included in the “Private Client Newsletter - Winter 09” please follow the links below.

- the 50% rate of tax

- gone phishing!

- new disclosure opportunity (NDO)

- VAT increase from 1 January 2010