HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) published its annual statistics on Inheritance Tax (IHT) in late July, revealing that IHT payments in the 2020-21 tax year totalled £5.4bn, up around £0.2bn (almost 4%) on the previous year, when receipts were slightly lower than 2018-19. Typically, more than 20,000 deceased estates a year are subject to an […]
Author archives: ruby
LPA overhaul? – consultation launched
During the summer, the Ministry of Justice launched a 12-week consultation into the process of registering and creating a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA). A handy component of intergenerational wealth planning, LPAs are legal documents, introduced in 2007 to replace the Enduring Power of Attorney, that allow one person (the ‘donor’) to appoint another (the […]
Autumn: a time of change and preparation
As the darker evenings and colder days of autumn approach, our thoughts often turn to hunkering down and preparing for the winter months. A season traditionally associated with change, preservation and preparation, autumn is a perfect time to get your finances organised before the rush of the festive season and the New Year. Getting prepared […]
Reasons for economic optimism in the autumn months
Over the summer months, forecasting agencies took turns to upgrade their growth projections for developed nations as a succession of strong economic data was released. For example, in its latest assessment, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) increased its combined 2021 growth forecast for advanced economies by half a percentage point, primarily due to the success […]
Robust recovery for housing and mortgage markets
Projections produced by the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA) suggest gross mortgage lending will reach £285bn this year. This revision, upgraded from a previous forecast of £283bn, points to the housing and mortgage markets’ continued strength in the face of pandemic-related challenges. A strong housing market has caused a surge in mortgage lending. In the […]
Economic Review – September 2021
Upgrade to UK GDP growth The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revised UK economic growth for Q2 2021 to 5.5% from an original estimate of 4.8%. The UK’s level of GDP is now 3.3% below where it was pre-pandemic in Q4 2019, revised from the previous estimate of 4.4% below. Other ONS data indicates […]
Pension savers enticed by ‘risky’ investments
At a time where it is becoming harder to save up adequate sums for retirement, a new study shows that the UK’s low interest rate environment is causing retirees to turn to riskier pension and investment products which could potentially lose them a significant sum. Risky business A poll from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme […]
News in Review
‘Against a backdrop of robust goods demand and continuing supply constraints, global inflationary pressures have remained strong’ In a unanimous decision, the Bank of England (BoE) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to maintain Bank Rate at its record low of 0.1% last week. The vote came as the supply chain crisis, largely driven by an […]
Residential Property Review – September 2021
Signs of solidity in UK housing market After reaching record highs in June, the housing market is now ‘taking a breather‘, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) August survey. New buyer enquiries fell for a second consecutive month, with the latest net balance dropping to -14%. Despite this slip in demand, supply […]
Commercial Property Market Review – September 2021
Robust figures for commercial property market Commercial property investment volumes reached £31.4bn at the end of July, according to the most recent UK Commercial Market in Minutes report from Savills. This was 32% above the same period in 2020 and 4% higher than the five-year average. Savills also noted a promising rise in the three-month […]