I was a bit disappointed that Gary Lineker didn't feature at all in today's Budget, but his name did make an appearance in Prime Minister's Questions which preceded it, so that will have to do. We were expecting (hoping) for a "boring Budget" (Jeremy Hunt's words, not ours). And in many ways it was. However, there were some big, unexpected changes to pension rules, so much...
Read More
Breaking with recent tradition on a number of fronts, yesterday afternoon saw Spreadsheet Phil's third Budget as Chancellor. It was as politically motivated as ever, perhaps no surprise as we are now just 3,613 hours away from Brexit. We have been relatively cynical recently about the Treasury's ability to formulate substantial and impactful changes when the Government's resources are so heavily devoted to the UK's departure from...
Read MorePlease find enclosed our hot-off-the-press summary of this afternoon's Budget. As with the Spring Budget before it, and the Autumn Statement before that, this (new) Autumn Budget was another damp squib, in our opinion. HM Treasury still clearly has its mind on more important matters, and there was therefore little in terms of substantive change. On the subject of changes to pension rules, cited in just...
Read More
Following his announcement in the last Autumn Statement, Philip Hammond today gave his first Spring Budget, but also his last Spring Budget. He will announce his first Autumn Budget later in the year, followed by a new Spring Statement, which will apparently be nothing like the old Autumn Statements. In the context of Brexit and the upcoming triggering of Article 50, this was always likely to...
Read MoreWelcome to the latest edition of the Kennedy Black Quarterly Private Client Newsletter. First off, we are delighted to be able to say that Kennedy Black Wealth Management recently won not one but two prestigious awards: Boutique Wealth Management Firm of the Year and Financial Planning Product of the Year (for our INTELLIGENT WEALTH MAP planning tool). As well as that announcement, we also cover a few interesting...
Read MoreGeorge Osborne announced his half-yearly Budget yesterday. This is, in fact, his third visit to the despatch box this year after the Budget in April and the Summer Budget in July. The build-up was very much focused on the continuation of Mr Osborne’s austerity measures. There was plenty of that, as well as a few items that our clients are likely to find interesting. However, given the...
Read MoreWelcome to the latest edition of the Kennedy Black Quarterly Private Client Newsletter. We summarise yesterday's Autumn Statement, we talk about Enterprise Investment Schemes (EIS) and when they seem to make most sense. Plus we look at a couple of insurance-based topics, including why you need to be careful about relying on employer-based protection cover. November 2015 KBWM Private Client Newsletter Don't hesitate to get in touch if you...
Read MoreAs the first Budget from a majority Conservative government since 1996, this was always likely to be an interesting exercise. Buy-to-Let properties: For a lot of our clients, the biggest bombshell relates to the tax relief on Buy-to-Let mortgage interest payments. This will be restricted to basic-rate income tax, phased in over a period of four years starting in April 2017. This continues what we perceive...
Read MoreView image | gettyimages.com This was touted as the 'most political' Budget in years, and it didn't disappoint on that front. Stronger growth and falling unemployment proved too good an opportunity for the Chancellor to miss. In fact, what that meant for the poor viewers was more than 30 minutes of economic 'preamble' as an introduction to one of the longest Budgets that I can remember (at more than...
Read More