UK Residency Tax Test

UK residency for tax purposes?

I went along to the London Boat Show at the weekend. Some amazing boats – many the size of a house. For those looking for a floating home you will need to take care about where you are deemed resident for tax payments. You are deemed a resident of the UK if you spend 183 days in the UK during a tax year. One of the automatic residency tests is if you have a home in the UK for more than 90 days, you are present in the UK on at least 30 separate days. If you have more than one home in the UK, you should consider each of those homes separately to see if you meet the test. You only need meet the test in relation to one of your homes.

The London Boat Show is on for the rest of the week. There are some amazing boats on display including the Pearl 75 which has a hefty £3m price tag. Here is a short video of this high end boat that first appeared at the Southampton Boat Show in 2012.

UK Residency Tax TestDominic2023-12-01T12:23:21+00:00

State Pension News

State Pension Announcement

The State pension has been under review by the Coalition Government. The system is currently very complicated, involving elements of National Insurance contributions at different rates and levels over many years. In a noble attempt to ensure that pensioners cannot fall below a minimum income, various credits and guarantees had been introduced over the years. The main problem with this is that it punished those that saved who then lost out on extra money that would have been provided. Of course this is a problem for the poorest in society and not everyone, although we all obviously have to collectively contribute tax towards the welfare state.

State pension – a target for means-testing?

Today the Government is expected to announce a flat £144 a week rate for the State pension. It is anticipated that this will require additional qualifying years of NI payments (35 years instead of 30) and of course we all know that the State pension retirement date is moving upwards from 65. Quick sums will tell you that £144 a week is £7,488 a year, which forms part of taxable income, is itself below the annual personal allowance, so effectively tax free. So any changes to genuinely simplify the benefit and State pension system are welcome. There’s almost certainly a catch. The State pension is fairly expensive and we have an ageing population as we all know. We have seen the alteration of Child Benefit to a means-tested benefit and I would suggest that the State pension is almost certainly likely to become a target for means-testing within the next 20 years. By then, who knows what shape UKplc will be in, but the mathematics of the State system look fragile if we continue to make the same central Government spending choices and promises into the future. The new proposals (which are just that) are scheduled for implementation in 2017 (a different Government) and will not effect existing pensioners.

Here’s a video that I found on You Tube. I regret that I do not know its source or if it’s ok for me to put it here. There’s no commercial agenda on my part here. I have assumed that it has been taken from BBC television somehow.

State Pension NewsDominic2023-12-01T12:23:21+00:00

What Is Impact Investing?

Many of the clients that I work with and the people I meet see money as a tool. I haven’t yet met anyone that really seems to think that the object of the exercise is to get as much as possible. How much is enough? is of course a very provocative question and is in reality one that needs the context of a person’s life. Charitable giving is an option many follow and increasingly there is an awareness and use of ethical or socially responsible investment. However, these have limitations. Social Impact investing offers another option. One that we can help clients consider carefully. It is not without its problems and risk (what investment isn’t?) but it is very much on our radar and on the rise as a form of financial planning. Here is a little video by Worthstone, a leading Impact Investment organisation headed by Gavin Francis. Do take a look.

What Is Impact Investing?Dominic2023-12-01T12:23:20+00:00

New Year Resolutions for 2013

Will 2013 – Be Your Year Of Change?

The new year is here, the Christmas decorations are packed up for the end of next years celebrations and many are reflecting on all that the year holds and many making new year resolutions for 2013. The financial services industry has reinvented itself in the guise of “adviser charging” which for many will be a more likely case of adviser changing. The start of a new year can feel a little daunting – back to work for many and of course the Christmas bills to pay and for the self-employed, tax payments at the end of the month. The gyms are full of optimism and the diet clubs are eager to sweeten their offering. All rather familiar.

No Gain Without Pain? How About Less Pain?

So what will make 2013 different for you? I suggest that for many change is implemented gradually and thoughtfully, but can I encourage you to make 2013 a year when you take more action and more control. Weight loss or getting fit is rarely an overnight transformation. The same is true of proper financial planning. A good plan takes time to get right, but we can start with a few basics and build upon these. My job is to reduce the pain in financial planning – making it easier to get your finances properly in order whilst also reducing the number of mistakes that you would otherwise make. I believe that mistakes are important, but it is always less painful to learn from the mistakes of others rather than make them yourself (we make enough of our own without repeating others needlessly). This is where experience really does pay dividends.

Start With The End In Mind

I’m not hugely interested in New Year Resolutions, as I have to admit that the weight of experience (broken promises to oneself) is often counter-productive. We get the chance to do things better, not simply with the new year, but every day. Indeed becoming successful at anything invariably means forming and keeping new habits – not fighting the existing ones. Today is a new chance, the choices can be overwhelming and all have different potential outcomes. That’s why I start by making sure we begin at the end – as Stephen Covey and others have said “start with the end in mind”. Of course identifying what you really want is not that straight-forward and where I spend a considerable time helping clients to have a plan based upon their own values.

New Year Resolutions for 2013Dominic2023-12-01T12:23:20+00:00

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