12 February 2018 - In This Issue:
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BlackStar Wealth News
Welcome to the February issue of BlackStar Wealth News. 

We are well into 2018 now and with the end of the tax year in sight there are a number of areas that would be advisable to focus on, ISAs for one and year-end pension contributions for another.

Read on for a view on these and the rationale behind replacing the Spring Budget.

As always, if you have any queries on the subjects raised in this month's issue of Wealth News please do not hesitate to get in touch. 



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Deadline approaching for using your ISA allowances
Investors and their advisers should start to turn their focus to the end of the tax year on 5 April.
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ISA contributions have historically always been focused on the end of the tax year.
 
This is the case even though it would make more sense to invest at the start of the tax year, to maximise the period of tax shelter .
 
The new Spring Statement replaces the Budget
There will be no Spring Budget this March, but that does not mean the Chancellor is staying silent.
backlit-meeting.jpg On 13 March, the Chancellor will present a Spring Statement to the House of Commons, not a Budget.

The next Budget should be in the autumn, probably November.  The rationale for the revised schedule is to give more time to develop legislation ...

Still time for year-end pension contributions
This is the time of year to review your pension contributions.
golden_egg.jpg February and March are rightly popular times for reviewing and making pension contributions.
 
By this stage you should have a good idea of what your income for the tax year will be and how much you may be able to contribute as a one-off payment before 6 April arrives.
 
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HMRC counts the cost of tax reliefs
HMRC has published its annual assessment of the cost of tax reliefs.
business_finance_research.jpg Every January HMRC publishes a table of 'Estimated costs of principal tax reliefs'.  Any Chancellor facing a budget deficit is bound to run his eyes down the list to see where the money is not coming in. 

After that assessment, they may well ponder whether some tweaking could benefit the Exchequer's coffers ...

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PRIIPS - the latest acronym for retail investors to learn
New regulations are producing some strange figures in investor information documents.
girl_library_confused.jpg There is a new acronym causing furrowed brows among investment managers, financial advisers and regulators: PRIIPS.
 
PRIIPS are 'Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products', which includes most fund and investment-related products aimed at retail investors.
 
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