Going For Gold
We all know the effort in winning and the buzz that you get when you win something. Even if you don’t win yourself watching others win at the Olympics can be quite inspiring for us all but imagine you just won the Olympic Gold and someone comes along looking to take your medal off you or even a chunk of it. Most people would be doing what they could to defend it. Well Rachel Reeves (our new chancellor) has set her budget for 30 October 2024, and she is going for Gold too, or Silver or Bronze or she might leave the winners alone and simply hit the masses by doubling the entry fees to the stadium. If you knew this was going to happen, would you buy your tickets now for the next event when they were cheap? If you had those medals, would you lock them away and protect them?
The Chancellor has inherited a £22 Billion hole in public finances, so she needs money and there are only two real avenues: – increasing taxes or cutting public expenditure. The obvious tax target is Capital Gains Tax (CGT) which is currently between 10% and 24% for individuals. Most tax experts have been expecting CGT to increase in the last few budgets and that possibility just got higher. Is it time to sell something now and pay 10% instead of 40% or higher? This could be trading property, investment property or you may want to sell your business and get the 10% Rate. (or windup if you are a limited company to avail of the 10% rate). You can also currently gift your trading businesses to a next generation without paying CGT, there is a risk that could be removed and/or that some tax could be payable on this. Inheritance tax is another concern, should you be giving your medals away to the next generation or locking them away in Trust? Pensions are also predicted to be targeted so should you be topping up now before the budget?
With just under three months to go it’s time to consciously decide if you want to do something now or take the risk. You will need to do the numbers and assess the overall risks but just as no-one went into the Olympics unprepared you too should not go into this new budget unprepared.
This article is for general information only. You are recommended to seek our professional advice before taking action on the basis of the contents of this article.