And They're Off...

The next five months will be dominated by the forthcoming General Election in May. The result of this election is likely to have a major impact on tax policy and the way forward for Britain and, indeed, starting with the party conferences in the Autumn, followed by the Autumn Statement, the parties have already started jockeying for position. Tax changes are high on the agenda for all three main political parties and Withers have recently surveyed the views of leading members of the UK's wealth management industry to see what we might expect.

One of the main themes of George Osborne's Autumn Statement (for more details on the Autumn Statement see the Withers' Stop Press) and the one thing the parties agree on, is that income and inheritance taxes are likely to be reformed in the next Parliament, in addition to which a levy on high value residential property may be introduced.

The so-called 'mansion tax' has generated a number of headlines in recent months. The Conservatives nailed their colours to the mast in the Autumn Statement with their reform of SDLT. Although this reduces the tax bill on buying a house for the majority of the population, in many ways this is...