George Osborne left out any mention of ISA related changes in his Autumn Statement speech today but official Treasury documents, released afterwards, showed that the Government has decided to press ahead with the change.
The documents also showed that the ISA annual limit will stay at £15,420 and JISA limit remains the same at £4,080.
At the March Budget the government announced that it would consult on whether to extend ISA eligible investments to include debt securities and equity offered by companies via a crowd-funding platform.
After a public consultation, to which there were 32 formal responses, officials have said the new ISA will be created.
The report stated: “The government has carefully considered all of the responses to this consultation and has decided to extend ISAs to crowd funded debt securities issued by companies.
“This is consistent with the views expressed by the majority of respondents. Draft legislation setting out the government’s approach to implementing this change will be published for consultation following technical discussions with interested parties, with a view to make regulations in time to enable debt securities issued by companies to be held in an Innovative Finance ISA in autumn 2016.”
“The government will work with the crowd funding sector and other interested parties to further explore the case for extending ISAs to equity crowd funding.”
There was also news related to the Help to Buy: ISA, which is launching on 1 December.
The Government will extend the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme to 2021 and create a London Help to Buy scheme, offering a 40% equity loan in recognition of the higher housing costs in the capital. The scheme will offer buyers with a 5% deposit a loan of up to 40% of the value of a new build home, interest-free for 5 years.
This can be used in conjunction with the new Help to Buy: ISA launching on 1 December. First time buyers that save in a Help to Buy: ISA will receive a 25% government bonus on top of their own savings, up to a maximum government bonus of £3000, which can be put towards the purchase of their first home.
On housing and tax, officials said higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax will be charged on purchases of additional residential properties, such as buy to let properties and second homes, with effect from 1 April 2016.
The report stated: “The higher rates will be 3 percentage points above the current SDLT rates. The government will use some of the additional tax collected to provide £60 million for communities in England where the impact of second homes is particularly acute. The tax receipts will help towards doubling the affordable housing budget. This will help first time buyers.”
Reaction
Andy Bell, chief executive of AJ Bell, said: “It is disappointing that ISA subscription limits will remain the same for 2016 / 17. I’d like to see the Government increasing those allowances in years where low inflation or deflation would not result in a natural increase."