ISA limit increased to £10,200
From April next year, savers will be able to earn tax-free interest on up to £10,200 of savings following an increase to the ISA allowance.
Chancellor Alistair Darling announced the change this week in his Budget speech, increasing both the cash savings and the investments limit from £3,600 to £5,100.
Financial experts and high street banks welcomed the move, although some commentators sneered at the measure as far too cautious and unlikely to foster a culture of saving.
“This was the only concession from a government whose finances are in such a woeful state that it simply could not afford anything more substantial,” wrote Tom Stevenson in the Telegraph.
“This year’s Budget has done nothing to re-build the savings culture that was abandoned in Britain’s decade of debt and it does nothing for the prudent savers who have borne the brunt of attempts to prevent recession turning into slump.”
Others were disappointed that savers will not be given the choice to invest the full £10,200 in a cash account.
Mike Warburton, senior tax partner at Grant Thornton, said: “It is a shame that the Revenue did not abolish the distinction between cash ISAs and stocks and shares ISAs.
“People should be free to make investment decisions based on what is appropriate for them, rather than be constrained by the fairly arbitrary limits imposed by the Revenue.”
The increased ISA allowance will take effect from April 2010 for all savers, and from 6 October 2009 for over-50s.
Visited 3422 times, 3 so far today
Comments (0)
Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed
There are no comments yet. Why not be the first to speak your mind.