It is less than seven months until the general election and, following the major party conferences, it is becoming apparent that not since the days of Thatcher versus Foot will investors and taxpayers have faced such a stark choice.
On the one hand we are being offered tax cuts by a Tory party that has finally woken up to the needs of savers.
On the other we are being warned of new taxes and the loss of pension tax benefits.
This makes planning a hazardous process. On pensions there is the clear threat that higher rate tax relief on contributions will vanish.
Pensions minister Steve Webb has mooted a single rate and Labour also appears to have this relief in its sights.
The LibDems, who could yet form part of a coalition, want to cut the lifetime allowance to £1m.
As the election approaches I suspect many higher earners will consider taking what could be a final chance to top up their pensions under the current rules.
On income tax the Tories are offering to raise the personal allowance to £12,500 and the higher rate threshold to £50,000 by 2020. Generous though that sounds it would just put the higher rate level to where it would now be had it been raised with inflation since 2010.
It is disingenuous for the Tories to claim the credit for raising the personal allowance to £10,000 as this was a LibDem policy.
It is disingenuous for the Tories to claim the credit for raising the personal allowance to £10,000 as this was a LibDem policyBut the cuts to the higher rate threshold clearly also have a LibDem stamp on them – so it would be refreshing to escape from this soaking of the middle income group.
Then there is the envy tax being proposed by both Labour and the LibDems in varying forms. This would see anyone owning a home worth more than £2m paying extra for the privilege of living there.
Even inheritance tax appears to be on the table again with PM David Cameron suggesting that the level could finally be raised.
So while one party sees savers as potential allies, the others may see them as sources of revenue.
Perhaps the main party leaders should ponder that old building society statistic that savers (or more precisely savings accounts) outnumber borrowers by seven to one.
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Beware of value judgements
The FCA’s decision to conduct a review into retail due diligence has predictably stirred up a hornet’s nest.
But what it is saying is fundamentally right. You can accept factual statements from a product supplier but beware of comment or value judgements.
It is the provider’s job to say what is in the fund and what it is supposed to do. It is the adviser’s job to evaluate the risk, whether it does what it says on the label and whether it is suitable for a client.
Too often this has failed to happen as in the case of Barclays not telling investors of fundamental changes to Aviva’s Global Balanced and Global Cautious Income Funds. It happened in the cases of KeyData and Arch Cru.
And to those who say the regulator did not do its job - you are right. That is why the FSA was replaced with the PRA and the FCA.
And that is why the approach of the FCA has been different on many issues including forewarning retail investors.
Naturally the biggest resistance to pre-warning came from within the industry itself - you cannot have your cake and eat it.
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August 5, 1955
Those close to retirement can finally find out what their state pension is likely to be under the new regime.
However, while this is progress there are many who will still be left in the dark.
This is because the sums will only be available to those born before August 5, 1955.
That may seem fine to those targeting the state pension age of 65 or 66.
But there will be some who are just a year away from receiving an occupational or private pension at age 60 who will still not be able to find out what their state pension will be when it eventually kicks in.
Once again it is women who are affected most because they are more likely to have had a pension written to age 60 but there are plenty of other old occupational and personal pensions written to this age.
Someone born in September 1955 could now be just 11 months away from receiving an occupational or personal pension.
They need to know how much extra they are likely to get from the state pension when they turn 66.
But that information is not there – and without it they cannot plan sensibly.
Tony Hazell writes for the Daily Mail’s Money Mail section
