Invest in cash isa today, or wait for Budget 2009 for new investment limits?

ManAtHome

On a £3,600 investment, it's only costing you between 50p and a quid a week in tax to wait...

TREVORCOLMAN

My view is that there may be an a small increase, but with the HUGH hole now in the Treasury tax take it wont amount to much - if indeed it does increase at all.

I can imagine the two laughing boys Culpability Brown and Mr Silly Earbrows stating that it would be too much paperwork to adjust (poor excuse I know but thats the spin they would put on it - they are too busy hiding their expense claims).

I can see some small concession for those pensioners who have savings instead of pi**ing all up the wall or those who chose to smoke and are happy to live off the rest of us tax payers.

RayWolfe

Thanks for that very important contribution. Very useful.

bendix

I would imagine any increase in the allowance would be minimal - as someone else said, the last thing the government wants is for spare cash to be ferreted away in ISAs, they want it to be spent.

Anyway, if there is an increase (perhaps to 3800) it would likely come in next financial year, rather than this. Isnt that what normally happens with tax rises, for example?

crittertog

dunstonh wrote: »

The ISA providers wont be happy with a retrospective ISA increase. Software re-writes that cant be done overnight.

Hmm ... if the software's written correctly, the ISA allowance for any given tax year should be stored in a LUT (look-up table), and that referenced. In which case, changing a single record is a 5min change (allowing for time to consume the mandatory coffee and biscuit bribe for the DBA ). Of course, this depends on the software/DB being designed by a competent person ...

dunstonh

Of course, this depends on the software/DB being designed by a competent person ...

We are talking financial services companies here.

h5djr

It doesn't really matter. If there is an increase in the allowance just pay in the difference.

mfhstid

brewerdave wrote: »

Can't see the limit being raised - Messrs Darling and Brown want us to spend more so they are not going to incentivise more saving surely?

Economically, you're right that their objective is to encourage spending rather than saving. Politically, however, there's the appeal of being seen to 'do something' for beleaguered savers. And as we know, political considerations often trump economic ones.