Lifetime allowance abolition notwithstanding (the cap will be back if Sir Keir Starmer gets the keys to Number 10), the government has done horrible things to long-term investing that I never thought a Conservative administration would ever do.
Its shaving of the annual capital gains tax and dividend tax allowances from the start of this tax year is something I thought only a Labour government would ever do.
And to think there is worse to come – a further halving of the CGT allowance to £3,000 from £6,000 next April with the same haircut applied to the dividend allowance (cut to £500 from £1,000).
All rather depressing, I would say, and all rather unconservative.
Of course, financial planners will earn every penny of their fees in the months ahead by advising clients to take advantage of all the investment tax breaks available while they are still around – on everything from pensions and Isas through to more risky vehicles such as venture capital trusts and enterprise investment schemes.
But irrespective of general election outcomes, I cannot see the landscape getting any easier for those who want to build long-term wealth.
Pension tax relief on contributions will surely be targeted by a future government (blue or red), while CGT and dividend tax rates are only likely to head one way – and that is in line with income tax rates.
As for Isas, I hope the only meddling done will be on user-friendly grounds.
As wealth manager AJ Bell recently said, Isas have become far too complicated (like anything government touches).
Simplification should be the order of the day – no more, no less.
So, my message to you smart financial planners out there is a simple one: keep helping investors avoid the trip-wires.
Jeff Prestridge is group wealth and personal finance editor at DMGT
