A panel of experts delivered a session on investments, inheritance tax, pensions and employer tax liability in the aftermath of the Government’s controversial Autumn budget.
The event – held after a period of ‘allowing the dust to settle’ following last week’s fiscal announcements – was a collaboration between Rachael Bell Wealth Management, Saint & Co Chartered Accountants and Muckle LLP.
It was attended by a specially invited audience of business owners and associates who were keen to understand the real impact of the policies introduced by Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, when she delivered the first Labour Party budget in 14 years.
The decision to move pensions into inheritance tax regimes was among the hot topics, along with a discussion about the increased tax burden on businesses.
Rachael Bell, Practice Principal at Rachael Bell Wealth Management said: “Several announcements in the budget have fundamentally shifted the landscape, particularly when it comes to estate planning and inheritance tax.
“That means the best laid plans will inevitably need to be revisited and adapted to take account of these changes. There was a very healthy debate about the various approaches to tax efficiency and estates, but this is, of course, an increasingly complex area.
“It was a pleasure to offer some immediate views to the questions raised – although of course, we would always encourage a deeper conversation because there is no one-size-fits-all approach here.”
Rachael was joined on the panel by Lindsay Farrer, Managing Partner at Saint & Co Chartered Accountants; Alex Dent, Partner and Tax Specialist at Saint & Co, and Rachael Stephenson who is a Partner at Muckle.
Lindsay, who gave an overview of the employer National Insurance rate hike said it had led to businesses making difficult decisions: “We are already seeing the impact of the announcement, as employers look to mitigate the impact of the increase.
“The combined impact of minimum wage and NI increases will be crippling, and we are starting to see many businesses react.
“The crucial step all business owners need to take is around the budgeting and forecasting. These changes are coming – so we need eyes wide open.”
Lindsay shared a series of projections which showed how businesses will be impacted by the changes.
A company with 25 employees earning the minimum wage and working 40-hour weeks will now have to find more than £56,000 extra to pay the same people.
“We already are seeing shift hours cut, split shifts introduced, people leaving jobs and not being replaced as a direct result of last week’s budget,” she added.
Alex Dent from Saint & Co covered estate planning, Trusts and capital gains tax, whilst Rachael Stephenson was able to offer a broad-church view from a legal perspective.
The session also touched on intergenerational planning, lifetime giving, succession planning and business asset disposal relief, before ending with a lunch and chat session.
All businesses that participated in the event welcome new client enquiries.
