Dividend tax rise 'kick in the teeth' for advice firm owners and directors

On Tuesday (7 September), the prime minister announced a 1.25 percentage point increase in dividend taxes was needed to fund health and social care services. A health and social care levy will also be introduced alongside this. The tax rise is expected to raise almost £36bn over the next three years, with much of the initial revenue used to clear Covid backlogs. Lesley Stewart, head of financial planning at Quilter, said the rise in National Insurance (NI) and dividends would bring "unnecessary complexity" for advice firms. "While many have weathered the pandemic relatively well, t...