May 2023 Newsletter | Cylchlythyr Misol Mai 2023
1. If your car is on a PCP finance contract, you may have been mis-sold based on:
- Lack of clarity on costs, commission or the contract itself
- Lack of affordability checks (if you could not afford the monthly payments)
- Faulty or unsatisfactory vehicle
The dealer should have made you aware of the commission arrangements associated with the contract. If your PCP contract did not make it clear the amount of commission charged, contact the dealer. If you believe that the commission charged was extortionate and would have affected your decision to take out the PCP contract had you known before signing, this can form part of the complaint against the dealer.
2. HMRC figures show that Inheritance Tax receipts have risen by £1bn in the last tax year to a record £7.1bn. Planning is key to minimise future Inheritance Tax liabilities and the first step to take is to ensure that you have a current and valid will.
3. In Wales, from April 2023, furnished holiday lets must now be available for letting for at least 252 days per year and actually let for at least 182 days in a 12 month period in order to qualify for business rates instead of council tax. This is a significant increase from the previous threshold of 70 days of actual letting with 140 days available for let.
This may lead to a number of holiday let owners facing a huge increase in their bills, given that some local councils now charge a council tax premium of 200%-300% on second home ownership.
4. Continue to remain scam aware. One current scam is where individuals receive a "Hi Mum" or "Hi Dad" text message purporting to be from their children, asking them to transfer money to help with an emergency. Always call your children to check if they sent this message to you before making any payment. Action Fraud noted that £1.5 million was lost to this scam in only a 5 month period in 2022.
Ask Huw & Aled: I am about to move overseas for a few years and wish to continue paying into my personal pension in the UK. Will I still receive UK tax relief on my personal pension contributions when I am non-UK tax resident?
Firstly, you will need to contact your pension provider to check whether their policy is to allow non-UK tax residents to continue to pay contributions into UK personal pensions (policies can differ depending on provider).
Secondly, if the provider allows you to continue your personal pension contributions, subject to certain conditions, you may be able to continue to make tax-relievable pension contributions of up to £3,600 (gross) per tax year to your existing scheme for a maximum period of 5 consecutive years of being non-UK tax resident, starting with the first full tax year of non-UK tax residence.
Please contact your pension provider to discuss how any changes in your tax residency status may affect your pension policies.
