INVESTMENTS (THEORY, PRODUCTS, NEWS) Archives - Financial Planning in Surrey

Government’s homebuying fixer-upper

Daniel Liddicott
Nov 2025 • 2 min read

Government’s homebuying fixer-upper

At the beginning of October, the Government announced some significant planned changes to the homebuying process. These reforms also include a focus on digitising the process, rather than relying quite so heavily on sending physical copies of documents and spending countless hours on the phone chasing conveyancing solicitors for updates. For those of you who have been through this painstaking process in the past, the phrase “About time!” might spring to mind.

These changes were announced with the hope that they will reduce the timeframe for completing the purchase of a new home by around four weeks. One of the key proposed differences is the requirement for searches and surveys to be published by sellers and estate agents prior to a property listing being made public.

This would save homebuyers both the time and money required to instruct searches and surveys on their prospective new home. It is also expected that this would lead to fewer property sales falling through as this will enable buyers to be far more informed from the outset. With the surprises that can arise as a result of these searches and surveys, this would appear to be a good way to reduce the number of buyers getting ‘cold feet’ and pulling out due to previously unforeseen problems.

There is also the potential for legally binding contracts to be introduced earlier in the process, to reduce the likelihood of prospective buyers pulling out months after having had their initial offer accepted.

According to an article by Financial Reporter, the mandatory information that would need to be provided under these reforms prior to a property being placed on the market include:

council tax band
EPC rating
property type
legal and transactional information such as title information and seller ID verification
leasehold terms
building safety data
standard searches
property condition assessments tailored to property age and type
service charges
planning consents
flood risk data
chain status
clear floor plans

As for digitisation, more widespread use of digital ID verification and standardised data sharing aim to smooth the journey to completion of purchase, improving transparency and reducing the number of sticking points that so frequently arise under the current system.

This is a promising announcement, and one that feels massively overdue. Better late than never! The government is set to lay out the roadmap for making these changes in the new year. Until then, we must wait to find out how the government plans to deliver this system overhaul.

Let’s hope this reform doesn’t fall through before completion.

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Government’s homebuying fixer-upperJemima Thomas2025-11-04T13:03:23+00:00

Does everything have to cost the earth?

Dominic Thomas
Oct 2025 • 3 min read

Does everything have to cost the earth?

I’ve been advising clients and helping them to invest for their future since 1991 and it was only when I became an Independent Financial Adviser in May 1992 that I could offer anyone ethically screened investment choices. The sector and choices have evolved an awful lot since then resulting in some rather cynical funds launched by investment companies keen to get on the bandwagon rather than actually improve the way we treat each other and the planet. The term “greenwashing” was apt for this as we witnessed misleading marketing imagery (windmills, trees etc) to suggest something that wasn’t always true.

The regulator (another reason why we do need one) rightly stepped up and called time on this practice and have reset the bar for labelling such funds. The approach has, as is often the case, been far from perfect, laborious and probably bureaucratic, but is well intended. However, we are now gradually ‘getting there’ so that both advisers and investors can have greater confidence in what is said and done being aligned.

Unfortunately, despite the data and scientific evidence, a number of politicians and media owners have decided that saving the planet from climate crisis is not a priority and not worth doing (paying for and changing). We have one planet and there isn’t a viable alternative that we can reach.

At a recent socially responsible investment conference, we discussed the current challenges and some solutions, but the stark reality is that the transition that needs to happen within our economies means that we must engage with the ‘villains’ (the polluters and abusers) of the piece. We might term this as a choice between the extractive and exploitative economy versus a solutions economy. We have to counter the narratives with facts and appeal to shared values of protecting our families, homes and countries of the future. Who, after all, doesn’t want clean air and water, and other than a psychopath, who would not want this for everyone.

The investment piece is therefore far from pure or perfect. What many either don’t know (or don’t understand) is that these funds advocate and engage with companies, attempting to induce positive changes in their behaviour. You cannot really do that if you simply exclude, point and shout … much as the idealist in me would wish to. It means engaging with the perpetrator and holding a stake in their business, buying the right to be in the discussion and leading them into a better future.

This is far from easy to accept, it can feel like placating an abuser and it’s something that most activists, who are ultimately the thought leaders at the front of a movement that will eventually benefit all, often struggle to admit. I was at a screening of the documentary by Fiona Cunningham-Reid Ackroyd & Harvey: The Art of Activism and we discussed the contents with her, Dan Harvey and Heather Ackroyd. They have been actively engaged in expressing concern about the environment for their entire adult life, making some truly remarkable art and living out their ethics. They remain hopeful and thankful whilst engaged in the problem and using their creativity to highlight concerns. They don’t stay in their studio preaching, but are actively engaged in the local and global community, using art to focus our engagement.

There was a moment in the discussion where this very issue reared its head – where opinion was divided about engagement and exclusion. Context and purpose are everything and I favour the way they have chosen – not to take the easy money from corporations to help them gain greener credentials (such as the Board of Monsanto wanting a Board member piece in their iconic grass image – this was a hard “no”, but that doesn’t preclude engaging with Monsanto – who we need to change their practices if we are to prevent an agricultural disaster).

This is obviously the more expensive and harder path, whilst the orange felon throws his tantrums and threatens corporations and civilians, it has become harder to resist and easier to capitulate to folly, but whilst it sometimes appears that the ‘bullies’ and dullards are winning, the reality is that the language may have changed, but the processes have not. DEI may not be the term, but companies understand that a fairly employed workforce that represents the real world is one with a future and energy saving ultimately benefits their bottom line. We all want a future and our planet is our only home.

Talk to me to discuss how your financial plan and your portfolio can be based on your values. Investing doesn’t have to cost the earth.

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Does everything have to cost the earth?Jemima Thomas2025-10-28T14:01:30+00:00

The Times They Are A Taxing?

Dominic Thomas
Oct 2025 • 3 min read

The Times They Are A Taxing?

Tax is one of those hot topics that can be fairly divisive along political lines. Few of us relish the idea of paying tax, but nearly everyone loathes the idea of our taxes being wasted on vanity projects or things that seem out of line with our values or needs.

I recently had the pleasure of seeing Nye, a production at the National Theatre about the Welsh Labour MP who was responsible for creating the NHS. Given how many doctors I have met and advised over the years and how committed they are to their work, I was surprised to learn how few doctors in the late 1940s were initially supportive of his plans. I am, probably like you, extremely grateful for the NHS and the treatment and care that I have had over the years. Of course it has many faults and flaws, but like all great things it is a work in progress.

Whilst the play, starring Michael Sheen, has now concluded its sell-out run, it is still available to watch on the excellent streaming service from the National Theatre (very good value at £100 a year).

You may remember the fabulous opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London, created by Danny Boyle, a time when being English made me rather proud and flags were welcoming. There was a great segment honouring the NHS with giant beds and dancing doctors and nurses, a real celebration of one of our best institutions.

It took courage, passion and compromise to create the NHS – agreeing to make doctors the highest paid professionals, whilst retaining their independence and ability to work outside the NHS. It also took tax – at a time when Britain and the world was being rebuilt brick by brick, street by street. Rationing hadn’t even ended – not officially ending for another six years after the NHS was born (4 July 1954).

Today the NHS has approaching 1.4m members of staff with a budget approaching £200bn and serving 66 million of us. Most Americans (the sensible ones) recognise just how lucky we are to have our NHS, a medical problem in the US may well see your family bankrupted without sufficient private insurance.

Tax can be used extremely well and it’s clear that different nations have alternative views and approaches. It would seem that the majority of politicians have given up on trying to do difficult things, instead opting for pat answers and deferring decisions (or indecision). The NHS is regularly a political football and the media coverage that it often receives can only leave a discerning mind questioning the motives of billionaire media owners who live abroad (well maybe simply drawing obvious conclusions). In the pandemic we saw the incredible bravery of medics as they tackled an unknown virus without the right equipment, we clapped and thanked and then many forgot.

So I am hereby giving my heartfelt thanks to those of you who work within the NHS, as GPs, Junior Doctors, Consultants, nurses, psychologists, psychotherapists, OTs and managers (I hope I haven’t missed any of you out). Whether you are retired or still fighting the good fight, THANK YOU! My family, friends and I have all benefitted from your collective wisdom, care and the pursuit of good medicine and good science.

So let us remember that our taxes, as painful as they may sometimes be (and I would be the first to suggest that the tax system is desperately broken) are doing tremendous good, every minute of every day. The NHS should not be for sale.

References:

2012 Olympic Ceremony video: https://www.youtube.com/live/4As0e4de-rI?si=VwY32f_03psef0F0

Nye: National Theatre Trailer: https://nye.ntlive.com/trailer/

National Theatre at Home: https://www.ntathome.com/

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The Times They Are A Taxing?Jemima Thomas2025-10-10T15:53:03+01:00

Should I be investing in gold?

Matt Loadwick
Sept 2025 • 2 min read

Should I be investing in gold?

Early on Tuesday 2^nd September, the price of gold hit a record high of $3,508.50 per ounce, in continuation of an upwards trend that has seen the price rise by circa 30% this year alone. Headlines such as this will understandably grab attention; hopefully this short piece can provide further clarity on the pros and cons of investing in gold.

Historically, gold has been considered by many to be a safe haven for investment during periods of economic volatility, and it can be seen as a useful hedge against inflation. Given the economic volatility that we are currently experiencing (in no small part caused by the Trump tariffs and ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza) and stubborn levels of inflation that the UK Government & Bank of England are trying to curb, it seems that we find ourselves in something of a perfect storm, creating the conditions for gold prices to reach such highs.

It should also be said that the price of commodities such as gold do not tend to move in tandem with equities or bonds. The price of one is not specifically connected to the price of the other, and they can therefore appeal to some investors by providing further diversification of their investment portfolio.

Notwithstanding the above, it should also be understood that the price of gold and other commodities can be volatile. There can also be supply-and-demand issues caused by exploration & extraction activity, or by global economic growth rates / rates of inflation. As such, while gold can undoubtedly offer diversification to a portfolio, its pricing is cyclical, which therefore means that good timing is essential.

At Solomon’s, a key proponent of our investment philosophy is simple, that time spent in the market will have a greater impact on achieving positive results than attempting to ‘time the markets’. As we know, investing in equity markets exposes us to the risk of potential periods of shortfall as markets react to events we’ve all lived through, such as Trump’s tariffs, Covid-19, or the 2008 global financial crisis. Despite these events, we have all witnessed the market’s bouncebackability (I assure you that’s a real word – you can google it!), with the latest example being the recovery of the markets so far this year.

For anybody seeking further guidance on the topic, you know where we are, we’ll be more than happy to help.

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Should I be investing in gold?Jemima Thomas2025-09-25T12:14:34+01:00

The FA of Fantasy Funds for Footballers

Dominic Thomas
Sept 2025 • 3 min read

The FA of Fantasy Funds for Footballers

I wonder if you know a professional footballer? Or perhaps you are one. Our offices are located opposite the Chelsea training ground in Cobham. As the season starts and the all important transfer window closes, a lot of money has changed hands (we have seen a new British record payment for a player – £125m for Alexander Isak) with over £3bn spent by the Premier League.

Professional footballers tend to be young, and with the odd exception like James Milner, most end their playing careers by age 35. Some go on to become pundits and coaches, occasionally a Manager.

Sadly, where there is money, there is corruption and I am sorry to report that football is no different. There are a significant number of Agents and villains all set to relieve the player of his money and of course there is plenty of pressure on players off the pitch to simply keep up the appearance of success.

Just like anyone else, young players (and old ones) are not sure who to trust when it comes their finances. Many have been ruined by bad advice or downright fraud. There are advisers who ‘specialise’ in providing advice to players, but this guarantees nothing, and if anything is probably a red flag. Many have lost millions of pounds in investment schemes that they didn’t understand and should never have been exposed to. They were young and not sophisticated investors (most people aren’t) and they have been scammed time and time again.

This isn’t new information, it’s been going on for years, but there is a new documentary on the BBC – which you can see on iPlayer as well – called The Story of the V11. Players get all sorts of abuse from the stands and in the media, but there is and has been a great deal of financial abuse. It is utterly disgraceful and inexcusable. Many of the players involved have lost everything (including their lives due to the perceived shame and resulting suicide). It is desperately sad and could have been avoided.

The main problem that most professional players face is a high income (which is taxed at 45%) and a celebrity lifestyle alongside little if any financial knowledge. So when you see vast sums of tax being taken from your payslip, it’s entirely understandable to ask the question: what can I do to reduce it? (as we all do). Footballers have a short career but usually a very normal life expectancy. However, there are firms of financial advisers that will always attempt to carve out a niche market and claim that they know what makes everyone in that niche tick … then they seek endorsement from others who are well known in the niche and who (by virtue of experience) imply that their recommendations can be trusted.

The reality is of course that everyone is different, we may share lots of similarities, but we are all different. The common ground we share is attempting to secure our own future for when we get sick and are unable to work or decide to retire and stop earning.

The only thing these players did wrong was to trust the wrong person, who financially abused them and sold them investments that were and are… a load of rubbish. The advisers concerned sold utterly awful ‘investments’ (honestly, they cannot really be called investments). The advisers earned huge commissions and pretended that the tax-incentivised schemes (film partnerships) were backed by the Government and were risk-free.

It is a desperately sad tale and I hope that they get justice and the ‘advisers’ concerned all go to prison. They have caused misery and hardship and all the ingredients for a painful existence. When people are victim to these sorts of fraud they often feel stupid; they are not; they were ripped off and taken advantage of by criminals and fraudsters under the guise of being a qualified financial adviser.

Your financial plan does not need to involve complex investments, irrespective of your level of wealth. Investing doesn’t need to be complicated; it’s about owning a diversified portfolio of real businesses that produce income from the profits they make. Some businesses fail, but owning them all in the way our clients do, means the risk is minimal – barring a world ending catastrophic event (at which point none of us will be worried about money).

A good financial plan reflects your aspirations; a great one expresses your values and is reviewed regularly and importantly, you should be able to see the valuation of your portfolio and have it verified by various properly regulated entities.

So, you may not be a footballer, but the issues are the same – trusting the person that is advising you about your money, which is your future. If you know a footballer (I spot many in the Cobham area) or someone who needs our help in providing impartial, transparent advice with clear fees and clear communications, by spreading the word about us you may not be simply saving them money, but perhaps saving their life.

It is my opinion that currently, the legal system, tax system and regulatory framework have all failed to help these players and it is a disgrace – another one.

Get in touch to find out more, share this with a friend.

Here is the link to the BBC documentary: Footballs Financial Shame

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The FA of Fantasy Funds for FootballersJemima Thomas2025-09-05T11:27:28+01:00

How much tax will I pay on my savings interest?

Sam Harris
July 2025 • 2 min read

How much tax will I pay on my savings interest?

Working out how much interest you’ve earned across all your accounts and what allowances are available to you can be a challenge. The aim of this blog post is to help you understand the basics.

Interest is earned on the cash you deposit in a variety of financial products, such as savings accounts, bonds and cash ISAs. As you are probably aware, interest earned within ISAs is not taxable.

For everything else, these are the main allowances that can be used to mitigate your tax liability on your savings income:

Personal Savings Allowance (PSA) – your personal savings allowance is based on your marginal rate. The allowance is £1,000 for basic rate and non-taxpayers, £500 for higher rate taxpayers, while additional rate taxpayers have no personal savings allowance at all
Personal Allowance – the current personal allowance is £12,570. If your personal allowance has not been entirely used up by income from other sources, you may use it to offset your savings income
After that, we have the Starting Rate Band (SRB) – the SRB applies to individuals with earned income below £17,570. The full SRB is £5,000 but only applies to non-taxpayers (ie if your earned income is below £12,570) and is then reduced by £1 for every £1 of earned income above the personal allowance, which is why you lose entitlement to the SRB once your earned income reaches £17,570

Of course, the amount of tax you’ll end up paying on savings income depends on a variety of factors and your personal circumstances. Working it out can be a complex and stressful task. That’s where we come in.

At Solomon’s, we’re not accountants but we can do these calculations for you (your Accountant should also be able to assist, if you have one).

Anybody with more than one source of income (where one of those sources is ‘savings interest’), needs to be aware of these bands, thresholds and allowances to ensure that you can double-check that you are paying the correct amount of tax over to HMRC when your circumstances are considered as a whole.

If you think you might be affected by these issues (and we aren’t already aware of them), please drop us a line and we will be happy to assist.

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How much tax will I pay on my savings interest?Jemima Thomas2025-07-31T16:15:31+01:00

Would you be hit by a Wealth Tax?

Dominic Thomas
July 2025 • 4 min read

Would you be hit by a Wealth Tax?

We live in a world that is lurching towards fascism, which is largely due to the failure of centrist Governments to address the inequalities in our society. Whilst evidently aware that the UK overspends and hasn’t enough income each year to continue to provide the services that we expect, sadly this Government, much like those before it, is adamantly refusing to tax the very wealthy (those with more than £10m of assets). Instead, they are taking a wrecking ball to the working and middle classes and small businesses with tax upon tax.

Plans to raise even more from inheritance tax (IHT)

We know that inheritance tax is unpopular and probably not because of the amount it raises (which is a fraction of taxes, accurately less than 1% of the total £857,821m) but rather more to do with the approach that Government simply taxes you again, taking bites out of the same money. Your savings have already suffered income tax, capital gains tax and possibly stamp duty and VAT, yet also finally succumb to inheritance tax.

The Fake Exodus

The failure of the current Chancellor, who in fairness is just as ineffective as all her predecessors over the last 40 years or so, is unable to appreciate the biases that she has – an inability to believe that taxing a few people more will not cause them to leave the UK with a proper wealth tax. Pandering to right wing reports of an “exodus” of millionaires from the UK, which is an utterly inflated and bogus interpretation of the available data, we, like the Chancellor and most politicians, are being fed the lie that we must allow the very rich to pay minimal taxes or risk their departure and then share the burden between those who remain here. In fact, our tax system is deliberately structured this way. The firm touting the narrative, seized upon by billionaire media moguls, is Henley and Partners – a company that basically specialises in servicing the ultra-rich. Its equivalent is a gun manufacturer distorting violent crime data resulting in fear and widespread gun ownership (ker-ching!) and … more violent crime.

Reality Check – Millionaires care about a thriving society too

The reality is that only 0.2% (zero point two percent) of millionaires migrate. This rate has barely altered. The Tax Justice Network and Patriotic Millionaires UK have both attempted to address this grossly deliberately misleading narrative, providing data and facts, but UK and global media outlets are rarely concerned with anything other than sensationalism and stoking division. It wouldn’t be a surprise if you had never heard of either organisation. It might surprise you to learn that 80% of UK millionaires support a 2% wealth tax. These are people who have at least £4m of net assets, which does include some of our clients.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves, like those before her, has fallen for it and is pressing ahead with frozen allowances, increases to NI and tax rises for inheritance taxes in particular, impacting anyone with an investment-based pension fund (you) or a farmer (we have a few farmer clients but not many). Whilst Henley and Partners have backtracked on their false and inflammatory statements about an “exodus”, the media has not caught up and neither has Reeves.

As a result, the gradual reduction of the welfare state, the sense of distaste that most of us have for our ever-rising bills and taxes, the billionaires and ultra rich continue to build wealth and remain largely outside of scope. The constant failure of the UK Government and in particular Kier Starmer, leaves the door open for an irate electorate to vote for change, sadly the party that garners attention (thanks to a more than willing media) is that of Reform and the duplicitous Nigel Farage, who is a Trump mimic and fans the flames of fascism. For some people he is a protest vote; but the evidence suggests that he is not merely a protest. His rhetoric (backed by very wealthy individuals like Elon Musk and businesses) calls for dismantling the welfare state (including the NHS) and taking an authoritarian approach – threatening our democracy. On the rare occasions that he and his supporters admit that Brexit has failed, he states this is due to Government not going far enough (by which he means far right enough). Whilst the focus may initially be on “illegal immigrants” and abandoning plans to save our only planet, his “policies” or words will inevitably fail to address any real problems; his argument will always be that centrists (the vast majority of the electorate) didn’t allow him to go far enough, and so we are, in my view, at a crossroads. He also advocates “relaxing” gun laws and defended fascists (laughably calling them “concerned families”) attempting to burn down a hotel which may have housed asylum seekers. You know your history.

When new information comes to light, I am forced to rethink and change my mind – how about you? My role as your adviser is not to tell you how to vote, but to advise you about your wealth and how this aligns with your lifestyle and the general sense of wellbeing when contextualised within our society. Successive Governments have all largely failed most of us except the very wealthy which doesn’t include you (or me) despite our combined efforts to save, invest, grow, innovate, employ, repay debt and minimise taxes.

Instead, an employed person earning say £120,000 will have tax rates of 62% whereas I can assure you that someone with sufficient capital will be able to generate the same level of income with tax rates no higher than 28%. Taxing income and taxing wealth are not even vaguely comparable. You will note that in the diagram about tax receipts, most of those taxes are paid by working people under State Pension age.

I’m actually of no particular political persuasion, I attempt to vote for who I believe will serve our country and planet best, not necessarily my own interests. The choices today are highly influenced by media bias and false representation. Somehow, we have to pick our way through the noise and vote for decent people who hold everyone’s interests; not simply those who have a particular distorted view of monoculture, a faux respect for the protection of women and children (look at what they vote to cut) and conveniently forget our history whilst at the same time portraying a distorted view of the past. It is time for hope, not hate.

Ref: HMRC latest tax receipts: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk/hmrc-tax-receipts-and-national-insurance-contributions-for-the-uk-new-monthly-bulletin#headlines
Henley and Partners: https://www.henleyglobal.com/services
Tax Justice Network: https://taxjustice.net/press/millionaire-exodus-claim-backtracked-but-media-re-run-story-anyway/
Patriotic Millionaires UK: https://patrioticmillionaires.uk/
Who Owns the UK Media 2023 Report: https://www.mediareform.org.uk/blog/new-report-who-owns-the-uk-media
Farage defending Epping fascists: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/nigel-farage-epping-asylum-hotel-protests-b2793289.html
Hope not Hate: https://hopenothate.org.uk/

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Would you be hit by a Wealth Tax?Jemima Thomas2025-08-13T10:19:38+01:00

The Salt Path is even more salty

Dominic Thomas
July 2025 • 2 min read

The Salt Path is even more salty…

Well, if you’ve read the book, seen the film or read my blog you will know this story of Moth and Raynor Winn who lost everything and found what was important. However, it seems that this is yet another story that is largely fabricated to self-serve. We are used to our own gutless politicians, and the plain lies and warmongering of the likes of Trump, Putin, Netanyahu and the deranged Farage, but once again fantasy and fiction collide to make falsehood.

Investigative journalist Cloe Hadjimatheou was intrigued enough about the elements of the story that didn’t add up. I suggested that I had some concerns as the complete loss of a home due to a poor investment is somewhat unusual and extreme. Hadjimatheou has done a thorough examination of the story and now it seems that everyone involved is backed into a corner with nowhere to hide.

The reality is rather different from both film and book, even whilst allowing for artistic licence and dramatisation, there are important aspects of the story that make the original tellers subject to the charge of complete liars.

According to Hadjimatheou’s thorough research, it would seem that Raynor Winn is herself a fictional character as is her husband Moth, in fact they are Sally and Tim Walker. Sally embezzled money from her employer to the tune of around £64,000 but it seems probably rather more. A family relative provided a loan of £100,000 to cover the legal fees and repayment to her employer Martin Walker an estate agent and surveyor in Pwllheli. The family relative who had provided the loan lost his business and creditors, together with the permission of the Courts, subsequently wanted repayment of the £100,000 which with interest had become £150,000. Failing to meet the repayment with a year to do so, resulted in repossession.

However, there are further plot twists with the couple buying property in France and publishing a book with a prize of their home (which it was suggested was mortgage free). So to say there are some serious questions about the credibility and character of Mr and Mrs Walker would be, well, something of an understatement. This then calls into question Tim Walker’s claim that he was diagnosed with corticobasal degeneration, as it is clear from the alleged time of diagnosis that nothing short of a miracle has occurred with his condition, something that medical experts find highly dubious. Medical records are of course, rather conveniently, protected.

Anyway, you can read the investigation by Cloe Hadjimatheou for yourself in the Observer, it was published on Saturday 5^th July – here is the link

As for the Walkers, it seems that they have created a web of lies and have a lot of explaining to do. There are consequences for work held out as factual when it is actually deliberately misleading and this may have further ramifications for the Publisher, film company and the Walkers themselves.

Sadly, we live in an age where truth is being eroded every day, mainly by politicians and media moguls or the ‘tech bros’. Where we come across it, I believe we need to oppose it and expose it for what it is. As a story, it’s heart-warming, but at it’s core is now a collection of lies which ruin its perceived purpose.

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The Salt Path is even more saltyJemima Thomas2025-07-08T16:29:46+01:00

Is your pension being taxed too much?

Dominic Thomas
July 2025 • 2 min read

Income from your pension and a little less conversation

For those of you who have been using the 2015 pension freedoms to access lumps of money from your pensions, there is some good news (I hope).

As of 6^th April 2025, if you are taking lump sum income (or indeed regular income) from your pension there ought to be less hassle from HMRC. If you have already done this with your pension, you will know that the pension company have to adhere to HMRC tax rules and invariably have to ‘over-tax’ your pension income, meaning that you have to reclaim it via a P55, P53Z or P50z form from HMRC. In fairness, this process has been improved a lot and cases tend to be resolved within 6-8 weeks. However, only if you reclaim it!

HMRC have confirmed that this system (which has resulted in pensioners being over-taxed to the tune of £1.3bn since 2015) is finally set to be overhauled following years of campaigning.

Since the system was put in place, over 470,000 claims totalling £1.37bn have been made for refunds. In Q4 of 2024 £49.5m was repaid to the 14,612 people who submitted forms.

From April, HMRC has announced that it will move much more quickly to replace these ‘emergency’ tax codes with regular tax codes, which will make sure that the correct amount of tax is deducted in real time. Hopefully this will reduce the need for form-filling to claim back over-paid tax, particularly where people make multiple withdrawals in a single tax year.

HMRC Announcement

HMRC made the announcement in its latest ‘Pension Schemes Newsletter’ (January 2025 Number 166) in an article entitled ‘helping customers get on the right pension pay faster’.

“From April 2025 we are improving how tax code information is used for those people who are new to receiving a private pension, so they pay the right amount of tax from the outset. We will automatically update the tax code for customers who are on a temporary tax code and would benefit from being on a cumulative code — this means they’ll avoid an overpayment or underpayment at the end of the year. There is no need to contact HMRC and once a tax code has been changed we’ll inform customers by letter or digitally if they’ve signed up for paperless in the HMRC app or online.

You do not need to make any changes to your tax coding process as we will automatically change these codes. However, as we’re systematically changing the tax codes for these customers you will receive notices for tax codes that have been automatically adjusted as they happen. As well as benefiting customers who will receive the right pension pay quicker, you may also see a reduction in queries you receive on tax code errors.

This small change is part of our wider commitment towards improving our customer service experience.”

So, hopefully a little less paperwork, but expect ever more access and accountability through the new HMRC app (which I have not yet tried myself). You may not be dancing in the aisles, but I’m reminded of Elvis…

A little less conversation, a little more action, please

All this aggravation ain’t satisfactioning me

A little more bite and a little less bark

A little less fight and a little more spark

Close your mouth and open up your heart and, baby, satisfy me …

So … why not … well done HMRC!

Here is the Official JXL Remix video of Elvis Presley – A Little Less Conversation

Come on – how many tax blog posts manage to link to Elvis?!

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Is your pension being taxed too much?Jemima Thomas2025-07-31T15:40:34+01:00

The Salt Path

Dominic Thomas
June 2025 • 3 min read

The Salt Path – lost and found

There is a new film The Salt Path based on the book by Raynor Winn about her own story. In essence, it’s a couple that loses everything, and I really mean everything, and decide rather impulsively to go hiking as a way to clear their heads. In an interview, Ray talks of the walk being a line and a map for them to follow step-by-step, having lost everything and recognising that the way through had to be one which was a planned route.

We quickly discover that this is an impulsive decision, not well thought through; in fact it’s hard to think it even vaguely wise given the physical shape that her husband Moth is in – walking with great difficulty due to a condition diagnosed (in the same week as being made homeless) as corticobasal degeneration (CBD), which I understand to be a Parkinsons-related illness impacting movement and cognition. Not ideal when walking a coastal path with unforgiving sheer, steep drops.

To call it a walk isn’t really accurate, it’s a 630 mile hike, with all their meagre worldly possessions carried in rucksacks or worn. It’s an endurance, though I am pleased to say that the story is not. Rather, it’s uplifting and revels in the human spirit and our ability to endure hardship. Set in the familiar beautiful scenery of the West Coast, they walk along the coastline from Minehead to Poole, funded only by a few pounds in benefits that they receive.

Together we face some of the reactions to them as a homeless couple, often with a great deal of kindness exposed. I haven’t read the book, and the film is naturally an adaptation with heightened dramatic impact, but it seems as though they also lack any friends willing to help, which may not be accurate (I don’t know).

I wondered why and how they managed to lose everything (their home, money and possessions) and it would appear that they invested in a friend’s business which failed and their assets were seized by creditors. Clearly there is another story there, but it is something that I have been asked about numerous times … “I have a friend who has asked me to invest in their business, what do you think?”.

As a business owner myself, I can assure you that it looks easier than it is. The failure rate is exceedingly high and whilst there may be a sense of ‘self determination’, there is an awful lot that is simply beyond your control. Geopolitics, pandemics, recessions, technology, competition, legislation, climate crisis, social trends, economic reality all batter the best of businesses. Perhaps investing in a friend or family member’s business is a great idea, maybe they are the next Bill Gates (hopefully not the next Elon Musk). So perhaps some pointers…

Can you afford to lose all the investment?
How much of your overall wealth would be exposed? Would this scupper your own security if it fails?
How would your relationship cope with ongoing involvement, failure or success?
Are you an active investor (regularly involved with the operational decisions) or passive? And if the latter, is that really code for “I don’t know what I’m doing”?
What experience do you bring that can assist, beyond capital?
Have you understood the risk? Have you checked past and current performance of the business? Do you really believe in the future projections or are these hopeful guesses wrapped in a spreadsheet?

Most of us are not venture capitalists, which is what investing in your friend’s business means. However, a professional VC looks at hundreds of businesses each year and considers the risk/reward very carefully indeed. The Government must incentivise most of us to consider any form of VC investment – with 30% or 50% tax relief and the promise of tax-free gains (in controlled investment solutions like VCTs, EIS and SEIS). These are regarded as suitable investments for probably no more than 1% of investors (according to our regulator, the FCA).

Whatever Ray and Moth invested in, I am confident that it would not have passed muster with any decent financial planner, and a compliance person somewhere would be screaming that they hadn’t had their appetite for risk or capacity for loss properly tested and explored. I understand these concerns, but of course the irony being that even having lost everything, their capacity for loss was not exhausted, they found a way through, it was not ‘the end’. Today, they would be classified as ‘vulnerable clients’ due to illness and experience, yet vulnerability as humans is how we learn most about ourselves and each other.

Ray and Moth rediscover a purpose and the value of life and their relationship. I don’t know if they learned any lessons about investment, other than to avoid it. The film is charming and life-affirming with a couple of familiar good actors – Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs.

Financial planning is meant to be about helping you verbalise and clarify your values and goals, setting out the life that you want in your remaining years. We provide the pathway to help you assess the viability of them and how we might make things easier, less arduous and less taxing; minimising risks whilst ensuring you never suffer total financial loss.

Should you feel inspired to buy her books with a link here to Penguin, and here is the new film from Black Bear.

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The Salt PathJemima Thomas2025-06-12T10:12:36+01:00

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