The Government has announced its intention to restrict, to the basic rate of income tax, tax relief on pensions savings with effect from 6 April 2011, for people with a taxable income of £150,000 or more. Finance Act 2009 introduced a Special Annual Allowance Charge (SAAC) which is an anti-forestalling provision which seeks to restrict pensions tax relief for those high income individuals who increase their savings above their normal pattern of savings ahead of 6 April 2011 (see Budget Note 47). The Disclosure Regime has been amended to add in a new description to secure the disclosure of any schemes that seek to avoid the special annual allowance charge (SAAC) introduced in Finance Act 2009. [Regulations SI2009/2033 (Opens new window)] have been made and laid and will come into effect on 1 September 2009. However, a transitional rule will require disclosure of schemes where the event that triggers a disclosure, under the normal rules, occurs between 23 April and 31 August 2009 inclusive. Updated guidance is published alongside these regulations.
