Matt Ellis
Tax Partner
Aside from measures already announced - the introduction of the 50% tax rate from 6 April, restriction of higher rate tax relief on pension contributions and 1% increases in National Insurance (NI) from April 2011 - today's Budget announced a raft of measures to counter planning designed to mitigate some of these changes. As a result the options available for employers to deliver tax-efficient remuneration to their employees could narrow considerably in the future.
In his Budget statement, Alistair Darling signalled specific focus in three key areas - "Geared growth" share arrangements, Employee Benefit Trusts and alternative pension structures. Consultation on these areas will take place during summer 2010 with new legislation expected in April 2011.
Unsurprisingly, if the tax costs for employment go up, employers are keener to find ways to mitigate them. The Chancellor clearly believes this is what is happening and today's announcement shows that it will be harder and harder for employers to implement tax efficient remuneration arrangements in the future.
Further, following consultation the Government has also rejected requests to change the way it should implement pension tax relief restrictions. The announcements from last year's Budget and the Pre-Budget Report will be retained, and the Treasury today published how it proposes in Finance Act 2010 to deal with the restriction of pensions tax relief from April 2011. Legislation up to then is already enacted.
From 2011/12 relief will be tapered down from 50% to 20% as gross income increases from £150,000 to £180,000. The stepped taper will be 1 % of relief for every £1,000 of gross income. Individuals with incomes over £180,000 will receive 20% - the same as a basic rate tax payer. For money purchase schemes this will be relatively easy to calculate. For defined benefit schemes the proposal is that age-related factors will be used which incorporate the impact of an individual's age and the pension scheme normal retirement age. Pension schemes will need to confirm to scheme members the deemed value of benefit each year.
In our view this is a missed opportunity to simplify the original announcements which have caused significant confusion for individuals and the industry. Taxation implications for high earners of final salary schemes will be complicated and, as a whole, may discourage formal pension saving.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
