HMRC v Airbnb – rent-a-room relief in the spotlight

An HMRC paper promised in the Budget could be bad news if you use Airbnb. The government has set out a call for evidence relating to rent-a-room relief in response to the rise in short term rentals facilitated by Airbnb … Continue reading

The next steps in automatic enrolment

The government has published a review on automatic enrolment in workplace pensions which makes important proposals for employers. Automatic enrolment of employees in workplace pensions has been a greater success than many predicted when it was introduced in October 2012. … Continue reading

The slow climb of US interest rates, a quarter percentage at a time…

The US central bank increased interest rates again in December. While the Bank of England managed just one interest rate rise in 2017, to end the year at 0.5%, its counterpart in the US notched up three increases, finishing at … Continue reading

A rewarding 2017 for shares

The world’s share markets were a profitable place to be in 2017. Index 2017 Change FTSE 100 +7.6% FTSE All-Share +9.0% Dow Jones Industrial +25.1% Standard & Poor’s 500 +19.4% Nikkei 225 +19.1% Euro Stoxx 50 (€) +6.5% Shanghai Composite … Continue reading

Fancy your chances at 1 in 24,500

National Savings & Investments have increased their interest rates – and boosted a chance of winning. National Savings & Investments (NS&I) beat many of its banking competitors by announcing a 0.25% increase in its variable rate products. These took effect … Continue reading