More arguments about wills are reaching the High Court. A recent report from the Ministry of Justice revealed that, last year in England and Wales, 188 cases involving contested wills were heard in the High Court, an increase of nearly 50% over the previous year. In practice that figure almost certainly understates quite how many disputes there are about wills and inheritances. The cost of going to court often encourages arguing parties to reach an agreement rather than see a

The Chancellor has asked the Office of Tax Simplification to review capital gains tax. Within a week of giving his Summer Statement, the Chancellor wrote to the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) asking it to “undertake a review of capital gains tax (CGT) and aspects of the taxation of chargeable gains in relation to individuals and smaller businesses”. The request was unexpected and prompted some press speculation that Rishi Sunak was beginning his hunt for extra tax revenue

The latest statistics on ISAs have emerged, showing nearly £270bn is held in cash. Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) reached their 20th birthday in April last year. Somewhat belatedly, HMRC has now issued ISA statistics up to April 2019. These reveal some surprising – and not so surprising – facts about ISAs: Total ISA subscriptions in 2018/19 were almost a fifth lower than in 2014/15. Cash ISAs accounted for 46% of all the value held in ISAs as at April 2019, despite the ul

The Chancellor’s Summer Statement introduced temporary changes in stamp duty land tax on homes, which prompted similar – but not identical – changes in Scotland and Wales. In his Statement on 8 July, the Chancellor raised the starting point for stamp duty land tax (SDLT) in England and Northern Ireland from £125,000 to £500,000 until 31 March 2021. Shortly afterwards, the Scottish government made a change to the nil rate band of its Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT),