Rebecca O’Keeffe, Head of Investment at Interactive Investor, outlined her view:
“The pre-budget hints of a possible rise in capital gains tax to 40 percent certainly softened the blow when it came. The actual 28 percent for higher rate taxpayers, by contrast, looks like restraint from George Osborne, as is the confirmation that the £10,100 annual exempt allowance remains. But restraint or not, have no doubts that for investors this represents a significant threat to their savings and investments. With the wealth of the nation having been battered by a financial crisis, UK investors now walk straight on to a hike in taxation which could seriously damage their overall returns and with it their plans for the future.

“However, although Osborne’s budget might have been unavoidable, taxation on savings is. The current allowance of £10,200 per person for ISAs is significant. It is therefore imperative that savers use their allowances in full for the first mile of their investment in any tax year and protect their gains from the new 28 percent rate being imposed.”