Treasury tightens focus of with-profits 'tax'

First published last month the proposals seek to implement anti-avoidance tax measures on surplus assets not set aside for with-profits policyholders – although not on statutory reserves. The key changes outlined by economic secretary Ivan Lewis, and which are intended to bring greater clarity are stated as: aiming to remove “the tax advantage that arises where companies that have no with-profits business, or only an insignificant amount of with profits business, have recently elected to value assets at book value under the Financial Services Authority’s Interim Prudential Source Book...