UK BUDGET REACTION: RBC Wealth Management Goes Through The Fine Print

Tom Burroughes

21 March 2013

Editor’s note: As readers can imagine, this publication was bombarded with reactions from the industry over yesterday’s annual budget statement from UK Chancellor of the Exchequer (aka finance minister), George Osborne. Among the notable points made by groups such as the Investment Management Association, for example, was a warm response to the changes to stamp duty on shares traded via the Alternative Investment Market; there was a more bemused reaction to the continued drive against “aggressive” tax avoiders and evaders, given that such measures have been in place for some time.

The overall economic and fiscal arithmetic is a cause for concern – the trajectory of UK public debt is a rising one, which presumably is one reason why the UK recently lost its valued AAA credit rating. UK gross domestic product growth is, for the time being, anaemic.

Among the dozens of responses, I decided to share the reaction of Louise Somerset, tax director, RBC Wealth Management. That firm, has been shortlisted for awards under the WealthBriefing Awards 2013 event in London, to be announced on 2 May.)

She looks at a number of issues of particular interest to wealth planners and those dealing with high net worth individuals. Here is what she said:

Increase in personal income tax allowance and national insurance

It is worth noting that, although the personal allowance for income tax purposes has been increased over the last few years in excess of inflation to £9,440 in the next tax year and again to £10,000 in April 2014, in 2013/14, NIC will still be payable on all earnings above £7,755. It is payable at 12 per cent on earnings between £7,755 and £41,450, so that an individual earning, say, £9,200 will pay no income tax but will nevertheless pay national insurance contributions of £173.40.

Corporation tax

The announcement of a further cut in corporation tax rates to 20 per cent by April 2015 is very welcome news, and will hopefully continue to keep the UK in the forefront of countries in which to do business. However, it is disappointing that the Chancellor does not appear to have done anything to halt the 2.6 per cent increase in business rates that will hit retailers (which pay 28 per cent of all business rates) particularly hard.

Top tax rate

Despite pressure from the Labour Party, the Chancellor has not moved from his previously announced intention of reducing the top rate of tax, payable on annual income above £150,000, from 50 per cent to 45 per cent. The argument has always been that more tax is collected when top rates fall. It will be interesting to see whether this will apply this time.

Anti-avoidance and anti-evasion

As anticipated, after all the media hype and parliamentary interest, there is a heavy focus on anti-avoidance in this year’s budget, with a number of specific anti-avoidance provisions targeting partnerships and offshore employment intermediaries in particular.

We already knew that the Finance Bill will contain the rules to implement the General Anti-Abuse Rule, which has been the subject of consultation over the last year since it was announced in the 2012 Budget. There has been much debate about the likely effect of the GAAR, but I do not believe that we will be able to appreciate its full impact for a number of years.

The recently-announced exchange of information agreements with the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey are part of a global trend towards tax transparency, and are aimed squarely at reducing tax evasion by people holding funds offshore and failing to declare the income they earn. Such agreements do increase red tape a little, but they provide HMRC with a powerful tool for collecting unpaid tax, and therefore work in favour of everyone who is already tax-compliant.

SEIS investments

The idea of encouraging investors in new start-up businesses by giving tax relief at the highest rate is sound, but the category of company that can qualify is restricted and relatively few companies are in a position to benefit. The extension of the capital gains exemption on monies invested in SEIS-qualifying companies is welcome, but is unlikely to encourage substantial additional investment.

Stamp duty

The removal of stamp duty on shares traded on the Alternative Investment Market is a welcome move, although he has avoided pressure to remove stamp duty on all share transactions.

Allowance freezing

Freezing allowances is an easy way for Chancellors to raise tax on the quiet. Simply by doing nothing, inflation erodes the value of tax-free amounts. This year, inheritance tax is the main victim, as the tax-free limit of £325,000 has not risen since 2009, and will be frozen until at least 2018. The freezing of next year’s CGT exemption will increase the amount of tax payable by many thousands of taxpayers, but allows the Chancellor to claim that tax rates have not risen.