258 March 2016 - Gryffe Advertizer

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Financial Blog
by Carl Melvin,
Affluent Financial Planning Ltd
High Earners set to pay more Tax
The Government needs money and high earners are
in its sights. Government raises cash by increasing
taxes, reducing allowances and disallowing deductions
against tax. For 40% or 45% taxpayers, you may be hit
very hard, especially if your earnings exceed £100,000 per year. Here are
some tax planning measures you may consider before the opportunity is
lost.
• Pension Contributions - Higher Rate income tax relief on pension
contributions is very likely to be reduced, so you will pay more income
tax in future.
• Reduction in Pension limits – the amount you can invest each
year and the maximum lifetime pension value you can hold are being
reduced. Big tax penalties if you breach these limits.
• Buy to Let – property investment is now much less attractive due to
extra costs and reduction in tax relief.
• State Pension Deferral – the benefi t is now much less attractive.
• Dividend Tax is changing – those with big dividend income will pay
more tax
• Savings Allowance – this will save tax on interest from cash deposits.
• Use ISA allowance – to shelter assets from tax. You can use cash or
assets to make your subscription.
• Transfer Personal Allowance – consider transferring allowance to
your spouse/civil partner to save tax.
• Use Capital Gains Allowance – realise tax free profi ts from assets of
up to £11,100 per person.
The reduction in tax relief and pension limits will particularly impact high
earners who are members of public sector pension schemes like NHS,
Local Government, Civil Service, etc – You should take professional
advice before tax year end and the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Budget
which is set for 16th March 2016.
This information is not fi nancial advice. If you require advice you should consult a
professional adviser.
Achieving fi nancial independence does not happen by accident – it is planned. Consider
taking professional advice. The fi rst meeting is normally free and there is no obligation.
Call for a FREE fi nancial review on 0871 702 9490 or info@affl uentfp.co.uk.
Alternatively, pop into the Affl uent offi ce opposite Amaretto restaurant on Main
Street, Bridge of Weir. www.affl uentfp.co.uk
with Colin Fyfe of Colcom
Windows 10 has been bedding in for well over 6 months now
and as it does so, the temptation to upgrade your computer to
the most recent O.S. may be getting too much to bear before
Microsoft cease their free upgrade offering later this year.
Among the computer users that I talk to that have invested
in Windows 10, the general opinion of it is fi ne. My personal
opinion of Windows 10 is that it is as good as Windows has ever
been. Nobody is particularly happy with the new start menu, as
fancy as it may be, but nearly everyone can put up with it. We
maybe don’t realise it but we are all becoming more and more
au fait with the tech giant’s tricks as they frivolously tweak our
software navigation habits. For what it’s worth, I still swear by
the classic shell; go to www.ninite.com/classicshell and enjoy
the Windows 10 start menu as it should have been.
If your computer is running OK and is older than 7 years on
Windows 7, then I see no point in running the update other than
curiosity.
The ever shrinking
(but still surprisingly
numerous) group of
Windows Vista users
out there may have
noticed a pop up
in Google Chrome
recently spelling the
end to their support of the dated O.S. Both
XP and Vista are falling off of the browser’s radar along with
Mac OS X 10.6, 10.7, and 10.8 in coming weeks so I would
advise caution as security fi xes will stop. Perhaps Firefox will
provide a safe haven for a while before the shutters come down
completely on the pure ancient and utterly decrepit software fi rst
provided and sold to us less than ten years ago.