Treasury

IFAs can apply for an optional exemption from the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) but this does not mean they will escape the Directive's effects, according to Stephen Hanks, economic adviser at the Treasury.

Chancellor Gordon Brown would have narrowly missed his own golden rule on fiscal policy, had he not changed the economic cycle, according to the Treasury Select Committee.

The Treasury has announced details of its financial inclusion programme which it says it aimed at addressing the barriers to accessing mainstream banking products and sources of affordable credit.

The Finance Bill 2006 has been published with a guidance note from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to clarify there will be no retrospective Inheritance Tax (IHT) charge on trusts written before Budget Day.

The Financial Service Authority (FSA) has published its consultation paper detailing how it intends to regulate all personal pensions, from April 2007.

THE TREASURY HAS admitted it has no idea how many taxpayers will have to rewrite their wills to avoid a new inheritance tax charge introduced in the Budget, reports The Times.

The Treasury has announced it will go ahead with option three of the regulation of personal pensions in particular Self-Invested Personal Pensions (Sipps), in its response to a consultation published last year.

The Treasury aims to cut back "disproportionate" requirements to report information to the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in its proposed amendments to the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA).

Treasury proposals to relax the Financial Services Authority's requirement to consult on rule changes could disadvantage small firms, says the Association of Independent Financial Advisers.

A CULL OF as many as 300 staff is expected if Henderson Group succeeds in its bid approach for the rival fund management house Gartmore, reports The Times .