e-mail Paul Lewis
Dear Listener
Welcome back! I know you got a newsletter last week but this Saturday sees the start of our regular Money Box after the six summer specials (Paul, Alvin, Alvin, Penny, Penny, Paul). So here we all are, tied to our desks for the next 46 weeks or so.
And a busy time it will be.
We know that there will be a General Election during the run and, whoever wins, some policy changes will be introduced. Apart from that, for reasons of balance, I can say no more. Except it might mean two budgets! Yippee!!
Half a million pensioners living abroad were anxiously
watching the European Court of Human Rights this week which is ruling on whether
their rights as humans are being violated by the UK government policy of
refusing to pay them the annual inflationary increase in their state pension. It
is a game of two halves – half a million who live in the EU and a dozen or so
other countries get the annual increase. Half a million who live in the rest of
the world – including
And this week incandescent light bulbs were (almost)
banned. The EU wants that great Victorian invention phased out by 2012. Though
in truth you could pass enough 150 watt pearl tungstens through the legal
loopholes to light the
But enough of stories we are NOT doing this week ….
IN THE BEST RADIO PROGRAMME (WE ARE NOW ABOUT HALF WAY THROUGH OUR YEAR SO WE CAN STILL BOAST ABOUT THAT ONE) THIS SATURDAY.
After rising by almost 20% over the summer – and 40% since their low point in March – share prices on the London stock exchange have taken a bit a fall this week as big investors returned to work and cashed in some of the profits their funds made while they were on holiday. But is this a ski-jump rally? A little lift before a plunge to the icy slopes below? Or is it the real thing when shares might finally move permanently above the level they reached 12 years ago? We get conflicting views on air.
From this week seventh birthdays come with a £250 cheque from the Government as the first children who qualified for a Child Trust Fund payment get their second tranche of £250 – or £500 if their parents’ income is below the lower tax credit limit. But with a quarter of parents not even bothering to bank the voucher – leaving it to the Treasury to do so after a year of inactivity – and many others not topping up the payments will the Fund be axed by a future government? At a time of cutting spending its £500 million annual cost must be a tempting target.
Come out come out wherever you are! Except now the Revenue knows where you are and if you don’t admit where your offshore earnings are stashed away you will be taxed on them and have to pay a hefty fine. And if you do admit it you will still be taxed and a fine will still be imposed – just a slightly smaller one. I was going to say ‘Hobson’s choice’ until I looked it up. In fact it is Morton’s Fork, named after Henry VIII’s chief tax collector Henry Morton. He operated a simple test. If you lived in luxury you could afford to pay taxes. And if you lived a parsimonious lifestyle then you were clearly hiding your money and had to pay the taxes anyway. Today’s chief tax collector explains how his offshore fork will operate.
Key Data – is it more bad news for the investors in this bust company? The administrator talks.
And we might just squeeze in another story. We’ll see.
Find out by listening to Money Box on Saturday at noon (and back with its normal repeat on Sunday at 9pm). Never miss a show again by subscribing to our podcast. Do that through our website bbc.co.uk/moneybox where you can also listen again, Have Your Say, watch videos, read why we are the Best Radio Programme and find out more about all the items covered this week. Last series our web pages and stories hit a record 600,000 viewings a month. Make it even more this year!
Best wishes,
Paul
PS Don’t forget the programme taster on BBC Breakfast between quarter to nine and nine o’clock. If you miss it you can watch it on the web all week. Treats or what!
e-mail Paul Lewis