- From 1 July 2014, cash and shares ISAs are to be merged into a New ISA – NISA – with an annual tax-free savings limit
of £15,000. Savers will now have complete flexibility over the cash and shares mix within the overall limit of £15,000.
- From April 2015, the starting rate of tax for savings income will be reduced from 10% to nil. The maximum amount of
taxable savings income that will be eligible will rise to £5,000 from £2,880.
- From 1 June 2014, the cap on Premium Bonds will rise from £30,000 to £40,000, increasing further to £50,000 in
2015/16. From August 2014, two £1 million prizes per month will be on offer, instead of the current one.
- HMRC is going to be given debt collection powers to recover money direct from the bank and building society
accounts, including ISAs, of debtors who owe over £1,000 of tax or tax credit debts. HMRC will use this route after the
debtor has been contacted ‘multiple times’. A minimum of £5,000 will be left ‘across’ debtors’ accounts after the debt
has been recovered.
- To continue to support business investment, the Government is doubling the Annual Investment Allowance to
£500,000 from April 2014 until the end of 2015
New £1 Coin
A new 12 side £1 coin is going to be introduced to protect against counterfeiting. The Royal Mint estimates that about 3% of all £1 coins in circulation are now forgeries. A public competition is going to take place to decide the design on the reverse or
‘tails’ side of the new coin.
Tax Avoidance
HMRC is going to seek an upfront payment of tax from people who have invested in disputed tax avoidance schemes.
HMRC Investigation Target
HMRC’s compliance yield target – the money it collects from pursuing tax evasion and tax avoidance – has been increased to
£24.5 billion in 2014/15 and £26.3 billion in 2015/16.
