Tax Action 2013

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Tax Action 2013

Sponsored by TaxCalc

 

 

Our annual, industry renowned Tax Action campaign is here again for 2013 and this year we are proud to be supported by TaxCalc.  The 21st year of this campaign looks at how much money is wasted in the UK by not being tax efficient and this year it highlights four individual areas of tax waste. 

The research revealed

Tax Action 2013 research revealed consumers are set to gift an unnecessary £4.6 billion covering these four key areas:

1. Tax relief on pension contributions

  • £2.6 billion1 is the combined amount of tax relief at basic rate taxpayers could benefit from if they saved into a pension
  • £150 million1 rise in pension waste from unused pension tax relief since 2012
  • 28%2 of unbiased.co.uk advisers think pensions tax relief is the most confusing tax
  • 4.3 million adults are not contributing to a pension but are considering it.

2. Savings on inheritance tax (IHT) by putting life policies under trust

  • £472 million1 is the overall individual inheritance tax wasted by not placing life protection policies ‘under trust’
  • £24 million1 rise in inheritance tax waste since 2012
  • 31%2  feel IHT is the most confusing tax

3. Making use of Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) for cash or stocks and shares investments

  • £1.4 billion1 is the total amount savers are set to lose out on by not being ISA efficient
  • £1.3 billion wasted through tax efficiency when it comes to cash savings,
  • £62 million wasted by not holding investments within a stock and shares ISA
  • 238%1 increase in tax wasted this year compared to last year
  • 35%2 of unbiased.co.uk advisers think we are seeing a trend towards ISAs becoming the preferred model of saving

4. Savings on Capital Gains Tax (GCT) by using ISAs to shelter investments

  • £171 million1 wasted in unnecessary CGT payments
  • £38 million1 rise in CGT waste since 2012
  • 32%2 of unbiased.co.uk advisers think CGT is the most under used tax allowance

Be tax efficient

For more information on how to be tax efficient read our 'Tax Action Tips' blog, with useful ideas and tips from our sponsors TaxCalc, as well as media advisers from the Bluebook.  We also have a new handy infographic for this year.

Nobody wants the tax man to reap the benefits of our hard earned cash, yet in our recent poll 68%3 of Brits admitted to doing nothing to reduce the amount of tax they pay.  We want to encourage consumers to seek professional advice for their tax planning needs, in order to make sure they are using all the right tax reliefs available to them, and to get the nation taking Tax Action!

Ensure you are tax efficient and avoiding waste by speaking to an accountant or financial adviser  who can help you come up with a plan - use our postcode search to find one near you today.

To find out how much tax you could be wasting, try our tax waste calculator - you might be surprised!

 

 

1 2013 Tax Action research has been carried out by Opinium Research on behalf of unbiased.co.uk and TaxCalc

2 unbiased.co.uk survey of 102 advisers

3The unbiased.co.uk web poll asked: Have you taken any steps in the last 12 months to reduce the amount of tax you pay? 68% said no. (base: 102 consumers visiting unbiased.co.uk)

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