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Charity donations used to ease IHT
Wealthy parents in the UK are increasingly donating to charity to mitigate inheritance tax (IHT) liabilities. A study by Rathbones shows that 53% of high-net-worth parents, with average assets over £3m, have raised their charitable contributions in the past two years. Gifts to charity are exempt from IHT, and donating at least 10% of an…
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Economists expect economy to rebound
Economists polled by Bloomberg expect the UK economy to have returned to growth in June after two consecutive months of declines, predicting that Office for National Statistics (ONS) data due this week will reveal growth of 0.2%. This comes after the economy contracted by 0.3% in April and 0.1% in May. The experts also expect…
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Industry issues carbon tax warning
The closure of Britain’s last coal plant in 2024 has been attributed to carbon taxes rather than renewable energy advancements. The Government doubled the carbon tax in 2015, significantly impacting coal’s viability. Sir Jim Ratcliffe, CEO of Ineos, argues that these taxes are “killing manufacturing” and increasing reliance on imports. Experts argue that these taxes…
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FCA tightens rules for payment firms
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced that stricter regulations for electronic payment firms will come into force in May 2026. The new rules say companies must separate customer funds from their own, ensuring refunds in case of firm failures. The City watchdog says firms will face annual audits by qualified auditors, monthly reporting, and…
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Mortgage arrears fall in Q2
Missed mortgage payments fell by 4.4% in Q2, according to a report by credit manager Pepper Advantage which also found that direct debit rejections were down 5.1%. This marks the first quarter since the pandemic where both have declined. The analysis also shows that new loans were down 3.2%, with this driven by the end…
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VAT warning over private healthcare
The Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN) has warned that imposing VAT on private healthcare could lead to increased NHS waiting lists and push patients towards unsafe foreign treatments. David Hare, IHPN’s chief executive, said that if even a small number of patients are priced out of private care, the NHS would face a surge in…
