What caught my eye this week.
Rishi Sunak didn’t hike capital gains tax in the Budget. I took it a little personally after I’d voluntarily conjured up [1] a five-figure tax charge, partly fearing he’d double the rate I’d pay.
However I’m not too miffed.
For one thing, the unsheltered shares I sold were mostly of the MAD GAINZ variety that did ridiculously well in the pandemic. And these growth stocks have continued to be hammered since I sold.
Indeed at one point on Friday my former highest-flyer only needed to slip another 5-6% for me to be up on selling even after the future tax charge.
Alas, it bounced into the close. Bittersweet.
Another reason is I still have more capital gains [2] to deal with in the future. Bitcoin, anyone? Though that one could well take care of itself in time, given its mercurial record.
Anyway, remember to always invest in an ISA [3] or SIPP to avoid this nonsense.
Beyond the Budget
The more worrisome reason I’m not too upset that I sold is some pundits believe big changes could still arrive on so-called ‘Tax Day’.
That’s set for 23 March.
According to the Financial Times [4] [Search result]:
A Treasury decision to hold a “tax day” three weeks after the Budget will be a bellwether for long-term changes in government tax policy, including on capital gains and environmental levies.
My standard policy has been to mostly ignore clickbait articles about this or that tax break being set to get the chop. Fearmongering comes up every year, and most of the time nothing much happens.
However we know the UK will have a harder time balancing the books in the future, thanks to Covid. Freezing personal allowances and nudging up corporation tax in the Budget was meaningful, but will it be sufficient?
Here’s all the Budget blues news:
- Key Budget points at a glance – BBC [5]
- More main points from Rishi Sunak’s Budget speech – ThisIsMoney [6]
- How to prepare for what comes next [Search result] – FT [7]
- What was in the small print? – Which [8]
- Extra 1.3m will start paying income tax over next five years – Guardian [9]
- Sunak claims Budget measures will create ‘Generation Buy’ – Guardian [10]
- How the government’s new 5% deposit mortgages will work – MSE [11]
Have a great weekend all.
From Monevator
Dynamic asset allocation and withdrawal in retirement – Monevator [12]
Money is stored energy – Monevator [13]
From the archive-ator: Trust life assurance to do the right thing – Monevator [14]
News
Note: Some links are Google search results – in PC/desktop view you can click to read the piece without being a paid subscriber. Try privacy/incognito mode to avoid cookies. Consider subscribing if you read them a lot!1 [15]
Q&A: The bond market shock [Search result] – FT [16]
200,000 women in line for pension back-payments of c. £13,500 – Guardian [17]
UK-EU trade falls sharply as Brexit disruption bites [Search result] – FT [18]
UK house price growth slows for third month, says Halifax – Reuters [19]
EU to launch legal proceedings against the UK ‘very soon’ – Guardian [20]
[Click to enlarge, or follow link to Twitter]
Products and services
The best savings accounts right now – Be Clever With Your Cash [22]
UK contact-less payment limit to rise to £100 – Guardian [23]
We both get £50 to invest at Seedrs if you sign-up via my link [24] and invest £500 in 30 days – Seedrs [24]
M&S to close all current accounts in August and shut bank branches – MSE [25]
Sign-up to Freetrade via my link and we can both get a free share worth between £3 and £200 – Freetrade [26]
Investment trusts have beaten equivalent [active] funds in most sectors over 10 and 20 years – ThisIsMoney [27]
Homes for sale with literary connections, in pictures – Guardian [28]
Comment and opinion
How to survive and make money in The Matrix – Portfolio Charts [29]
Why money is hard – Banker on FIRE [30]
How worrisome is the rise in interest rates? – Pragmatic Capitalism [31]
Bleak future for long-term government bonds – A Wealth of Common Sense [32]
Debt is a negative bond – White Coat Investor [33]
Why do Smart Beta ETFs perform so poorly? – Klement on Investing [34]
Finance as culture – luttig’s learnings [35]
When everyone’s a genius – Morgan Housel [36]
Jamie Catherwood and Rick Ferri on the market [Podcast] – Bogleheads [37]
Naughty corner: Active antics
The resilient mechanics within ARK ETFs [Search result] – FT [38]
What happened to gold? – The Irrelevant Investor [39]
Berkshire Hathaway’s annual letter [PDF] – Berkshire Hathaway [40]
What? Spend Bitcoin? – Humble Dollar [41]
Investors ponder stimulus size as rates rise – Investing Caffeine [42]
Reddit thinks it knows Bill Ackman’s SPAC target – Institutional Investor [43]
Corona corner
Covid cases collapsing in the UK – Oliver Johnson via Twitter [44]
DNA from Neanderthals affects vulnerability to Covid-19 – Economist [45]
People trying to leave England without travel form face £200 fine – Guardian [46]
A portal into a universe without Covid: New Zealand – New York Times [47]
Covid deaths high in countries with more overweight people – Guardian [48]
Quarantine pods are falling apart – The Atlantic [49]
Kindle book bargains
Business Adventures: 12 Classic Tales from Wall Street by John Brooks – £0.99 on Kindle [50]
Money Saving Book: Simple Hacks for a Happy Life by Holly Smith – £0.99 on Kindle [51]
Reset: How to Restart your Life and Get F.U. Money by David Sawyer – £0.99 on Kindle [52]
Billion Dollar Loser: The Epic Rise and Fall of WeWork by Reeves Weideman – £0.99 on Kindle [53]
It’s not a fact that owning a Kindle [54] makes you more attractive to the opposite sex.
Environmental factors
The problem with the world’s insatiable appetite for sand – CNBC [55]
MPs report UK government has no climate change plan – BBC [56]
Off our beat
The power of low expectations – Get Rich Slowly [57]
What happened to Jordan Peterson? – The Atlantic [58]
Global walking tours [Tweakable street videos] – Travel Remotely [59] [h/t Zude [60]]
And finally…
“Money’s greatest intrinsic value—and this can’t be overstated—is its ability to give you control over your time.”
– Morgan Housel, The Psychology of Money [61]
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- Note some articles can only be accessed through the search results if you’re using PC/desktop view (from mobile/tablet view they bring up the firewall/subscription page). To circumvent, switch your mobile browser to use the desktop view. On Chrome for Android: press the menu button followed by “Request Desktop Site”. [↩ [67]]