Blog: Could the Budget help VCTs?

VCTs

Whether or not Chancellor George Osborne changes the rules for higher rate tax payers in the March 2012 Budget, the groundwork will have been set for pensions tax relief above the basic rate potentially to be stripped out of the pension system at some time in the future.

For anyone earning a sum that attracts higher rate tax, finding a means to invest for their future needs and receive an attractive rate of tax relief in doing so, should now be firmly on their radar. Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) can be that attractive supplement for investing for retirement. They offer upfront income tax relief of 30% on the amount initially invested (irrespective of an investor's marginal rate of income tax), pay out dividends income tax-free - and not just out of the revenue profits of the fund, but also out of the realised capital profits from sale of investments - a...