CGT

[jmn]

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&amp...

According to HMRC despite significant rises in rates and a reduction in annual allowances undertaken by both the current and previous Governments receipts are down by 8.4% over the last 12 months.

Hopefully the Chancellor might revisit rates/allowances in the next Budget

Or perhaps reinstate indexation.

[Hereward]

This all started under Jeremy Hunt, the effing prick. The AEA now is a joke.

[Panamax]

There ya go. CGT is a "voluntary tax". You avoid it very easily by "not selling stuff". The regrettable side effect is that it brings the economy to a standstill. But who cares about that?

It's actually a "double or quits problem". The same people, let's say second home owners, who decide they'd like to change their second home for a different one get raped by (a) CGT on sale of their existing property, and (b) higher rate Stamp Duty on purchase of the next property.

Guess what. When people face a £250,000 tax bill to move from one property to the next - they don't.

[Panamax]

jmn said:

Or perhaps reinstate indexation.

Precisely. CGT in its current form is a Wealth Tax. A tax on inflation. You make nothing but pay tax on it.

[g4ry13]

Panamax said:

There ya go. CGT is a "voluntary tax". You avoid it very easily by "not selling stuff". The regrettable side effect is that it brings the economy to a standstill. But who cares about that?

It's not quite that simple though, is it?

A person could be sitting on huge gains in a stock, or some other asset like crypto. One can avoid the tax by "not selling stuff" but in a year or two that asset may have dropped 50%, or even be worthless.

[bloomen]

g4ry13 said:

A person could be sitting on huge gains in a stock, or some other asset like crypto. One can avoid the tax by "not selling stuff" but in a year or two that asset may have dropped 50%, or even be worthless.

Or if it's enough gain, you move somewhere else.

It's a tricky tax to tune correctly as there are so many variables and it's entirely in an area where the payees are going to be more switched on than normal.

It would be interesting to know the conditions in which it netted the most proportionally.

Despite that, the UK is still reasonably generous compared to other places.

Ireland is the true stunna in the locale. 1270 EUR CGT allowance, very limited tax free investment, a 33% CGT rate and ETFs and funds are taxed at 41% every 8 years whether you've sold it or not.

I presume that's all to force house prices higher so there's nowhere else to 'invest'. Not sure that's created a great outcome for the average citizen.

Edited by bloomen on Thursday 5th February 23:37

[Panamax]

bloomen said:

It's a tricky tax to tune correctly as there are so many variables

Agreed, my own approach has been to pay some CGT from time to time and just suck it up. My overall effective tax rate on disposals over a couple of decades is 10%.

It's definitely more difficult to suppress the overall tax burden now the tax rate is 24% with virtually no annual tax free allowance.

Then you get to the way CGT interacts with IHT and you find old-timers don't want to sell anything at all because of the double-taxation risk. i.e. pay 24% CGT and then have their estate walloped with 40% IHT shortly afterwards. (Death is not a CGT chargeable event.)