Robbing Rachel’s ISA Reforms

[TheSassyTraybake]

Although not mentioned in her speech the document released by the treasury hints at reforms to ISAs to “get the balance right between cash and equities to earn better returns for savers, boost the culture of retail investment, and support the growth mission”.

Nothing concrete as yet but looks like they are planning to move against cash ISA’s, either reducing the annual limits or the amount that can be held in them.

Personally I think a cash ISA is a waste of time, but that’s because I use my annual allowance for stocks and shares.

Interested in other people’s thoughts?

Happy for her to reduce the limit on cash ISAs if she increases the limit on S&S 😁

I have invested in shares in the past and lost some and gained some so would rather stick with cash at my stage in life

This would be another stupid decision by Reeves. Stock and shares are a riskier way to invest. I am so tired of that woman's never-ending incompetence.

I'm enjoying the way there was nothing for the middle classes to hate in her statement, so they're having to invent things.

Same. If I lose my money, there's no way that I can replace it - I'm now retired.

What an odd statement. What’s so great about halving growth and welfare cuts

I have an S&S ISA and never had a problem accessing money from it within a couple of days. I had a emergency requirement 2 years ago and withdrew several k with no fuss or waiting unduly.

i do think they should keep cash ISA as they are though, and with the same level as S&S, not everyone has the same confidence financially and it's hard enough to access financial products as it is for many.

I wish she would raise tax, especially so for higher earners.

She'll hack off the millennials I know big time if this is true. They use ISAs to save for a house deposit, don't want the risks of stocks and shares and want to be able to access the savings when they finally find somewhere to live.

Makes a change from pissing off us oldies, I suppose.

It’s not made up it was in the written statement released by the treasury. Feel free to read it and see. If you think you’ll understand it.

Excellent thread title op! 👏

Lifetime ISAs are a different thing and already capped at 4k a year

You won’t be. You’ll just have to put cash into a savings account and potentially pay tax on interest earned.

If the limit comes in, you could put it in premium bonds if you really can’t bear to invest it.

How about they just go back to relatively modest amounts of annual investments, say £3k p.a. like it was at the start or £5k p.a. with a maximum tax free lifetime investment limit of £50k. It was a bit stupid to increase it to £20k which only benefits the wealthier, many of whom have been shovelling cash from other investments into ISAs every 6 April, at £40k per year, i.e. £20k for each spouse, and many of them have ISA pots of several hundred thousand pounds, all tax free. We really shouldn't be giving wealthy people with hundreds of thousands invested any tax free status on gains or income. People with over £50k in savings can afford to pay income tax on the income and CGT on the gains.

I understand wanting to incentivise investment at the level of the economy. But is it necessary to patronise people by saying it’s for their own good?

It’s all well and good saying that stocks and shares outperform cash most of the time, over a period of time, but savers understand there is risk and knowingly accept the relatively low returns on cash for certainty. They don’t need saving from themselves.

Well then you can put it in an ordinary savings account and pay tax on the interest above £1000 can't you?

No one is forcing you to invest.

I don't agree with this policy at all. labour will not be getting my vote next time.

This was largely the mistake they made. They got spooked by the Tories & media campaign about voting Labour and working people getting tax rises so ran a campaign saying they wouldn’t increase income tax or employee NI contributions.

what they should have done is just bitten the bullet and said they would reverse the NI cuts and then seen where that left them.
Then they should have bitten the bullet once they’d got in and realised the black whole was bigger than the Tories had admitted to the OBR.

They didn’t realise there was black hole when they got in. Thats another lie. Everything the government does is public. So they either knew exactly what they were inheriting and claimed they didn’t realise till they got elected - so lied - or they didn’t bother looking into it before getting into office - in which case they are woefully incompetent and shouldn’t be in office.

If you’re comfortable calling her a stupid nickname then you’re no more intelligent than Trump and his ilk.

Yes that’s a completely logical link to make. And if you’re a bit left leaning you’re just like Stalin then?

Tbf there’s posts all over the site using nicknames for other politicians.

Higher earners in the UK already pay more than in virtually any other country in the world. Lower earners in contrast pay less tax than is the case in most other countries.

The idea there is more to be taken from higher earners is ridiculous.

How much more tax do you think someone on say £150k should pay?

The thing is - the country NEEDS that £40 billion.