By Stephen Womack
Director
David Williams IFA
THE coming year is packed with valuable opportunities for business owners and managers who want to build a secure future through saving and investing.
David Williams IFA is working with many business leaders to help ensure as much of their hard-earned wealth as possible goes to benefit themselves and their families, rather than the taxman.
While Brexit creates uncertainty around the UK economy and has slowed growth, the rest of the world is doing pretty well. The OECD’s latest economic report shows global growth at the highest rate for seven years in 2017, with an even higher rate of 3.7 per cent forecast for 2018. This is supporting higher company profits around the world.
David Williams IFA, Northamptonshire’s biggest firm of Chartered Financial Planners, is reflecting this in the investment strategies we use for clients. The majority of the funds held in client portfolios are globally focused. This allows our clients to continue to invest with confidence.
The Chancellor’s Budget last November was notable as much for what was not in it, as it was for the measures actually announced.
Savers and companies were relieved that there were no further changes to pension tax reliefs after years of frequent change. Pension contributions remain the most tax-efficient way for individuals to save and a highly-effective way for business owners to extract value from their companies. Company contributions to a pension can be set against corporation tax and flow into an individual’s pension fund free from income tax and National Insurance deductions.
There is still an expectation that these generous reliefs will eventually come under fire from a cash-strapped Chancellor. But in the meantime, those who have yet to pay anything into a pension this tax year could potentially save as much as £80,000 in the next few months – £40,000 before April 5 and then a further £40,000 once the new tax year starts.
Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) are also still very much on savers’ radars. The annual allowance for tax year 2018/19 remains at £20,000 – and double for a couple.
Higher earners who find themselves caught by the pensions annual allowance cap can instead look at other tax-efficient investments such as Venture Capital Trusts and Enterprise Investment Schemes.
To speak with one of our advisers about investment opportunities in 2018 call 01604 621302 or visit www.dwifa.co.uk
