Budget comment

Sean Jones, Financial Planner, James Hambro & Partners

Responding to the 2020 spring budget, Sean Jones, said: “The Chancellor spoke a lot about getting things done, but in personal finance terms, this was perhaps not surprisingly a ‘do very little’ budget.

Junior ISAs

“The increase in the Junior ISA allowance from £4,368 to £9,000 next month didn’t even make the speech, thanks to coronavirus. ISA limits for adults remain at £20,000. This is not unexpected, given how few people use the full allowance, but had it risen in line with inflation since it was set at that level in 2017/18, the limit would be £21,500 today.

Entrepreneurs Relief

“The allowance on Entrepreneurs Relief is falling from £10m to £1m from midnight. The Chancellor argues that this allowance does little to incentivise entrepreneurs. It was subject to some abuse and it was too good to be true really. It will, however, make a big difference to some business owners. Someone selling a business for £3m will pay £200,000 more in Capital Gains Tax than they would have. At least CGT is still only 20% and has not moved to be in line with income tax rates, as many of us feared it would be.

Taper relief

“The lifting of the taper relief on pensions by £90,0000 will make a big difference not just to embattled doctors and surgeons, but it is still incredibly complicated. The taper cut off has been lowered by £6,000, so anyone earning over £312,000 will only be allowed to contribute £4,000 to a pension. The change has taken so many people out of the net the Chancellor could have scrapped it altogether. The Lifetime Allowance, which arguably adds another unnecessary level of complication to pensions, rises to £1,073,100.”

By Sean Jones

Posted on 11th March 2020

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