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In April 2017 the Scottish Rate of Income Tax was introduced, which may have gone largely unnoticed by many Scottish taxpayers as the overall basic rate remained at 20% - albeit 10% going to HMRC and the other 10% to Revenue Scotland.
Normally the end of the year is quiet in terms of changes to the pensions industry, but 2017 bucked this trend with a very sensible move by the Scottish government.

SSASs have been in for a bit of a battering over the last year or so. Tainted by misuse from scammers, efforts to control the rogues have had serious implications for legitimate businesses trying to set up and run these small occupational schemes.
From 1 April, just three months away, there are significant changes coming into effect that will impact the leases of commercial properties held within a SIPP or SSAS in the UK.
I can’t help but feel a bit cheated when I am sat in the office on Budget day waiting for some surprise pensions announcement by the Chancellor and there is not only no surprise, but the word pension is only mentioned twice in the whole speech.

When SIPPs were created in Chancellor Lawson’s Budget speech back in 1989, the world was a different place. We were pre-financial crisis, pre-simplification, pre-freedom and choice and less engaged with saving for the long term, in part due to the pensions industry having been dominated by DB schemes.
A tsunami is usually defined as a natural disaster. By contrast, the tsunami of tributes and messages of condolence that has engulfed the world of financial services this week, in response to the passing of Mike Morrison on 6 November, is a natural expectation.
One thing that makes my blood boil is the blame SIPPs get every time there is a release of information on complaints.
Recently there was a consumer programme on Radio 4 at lunchtime which reignited in my mind the need for a permitted investment list for SIPPs.
In August, HM Treasury and the Department for Work & Pensions finally released their response to the ‘Pension Scams’ consultation.
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