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Income tax: Britons ‘unaware of bizarre rates’ as families face 85% charge after pay rise | Personal Finance | Finance

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Chancellor Jeremy Hunt extended the freeze on the UK income tax allowance threshold meaning it now will remain in place until 2027/28. The Government appears to have made this decision to balance the books and recoup £55billion amid the cost of living crisis.

Families and high earners face eye-watering tax rates leaving some with just a few pounds from a £1,000 pay increase, new analysis from AJ Bell shows.

The complicated mesh of thresholds and allowances means some workers getting a £1,000 pay rise will lose almost all of it through tapered benefits or cliff-edge allowances, while those who have student loans will be hit with extra deductions on top.

In the most extreme cases some people will be left with just a few pounds from a £1,000 pay increase.

Experts have suggested people will need to divert money into their pensions to avoid a tax penalty bigger than the pay increase.

READ MORE: Savings provider is offering ‘competitive’ rate on up to £85,000 – ‘excellent’

Some of the worst affected are higher earning graduates.

A graduate with a student loan receiving a pay increase next year pushing them into the additional rate tax bracket, which will be lowered to £125,140, could be left with just £6.50 in take home pay after a £1,000 pay increase – a 99 percent tax rate.

This also takes into account losing the Personal Savings Allowance – the tax break on savings interest.

Parents seeing Child Benefit tapered because they earn over £50,000, or losing Tax-Free Childcare completely once their earnings exceed £100,000, will be hit by sky-high effective marginal tax rates.

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The “most popular option” is using salary sacrifice to put money in their pension, meaning that putting a small amount extra in a pension could bring someone back under the limits.

It means that people need to be able to afford to put the money in their pension, but once they’ve taken into account the high marginal tax rates, it could cost them very little.

Ms Suter added: “The UK’s tax system is crying out for an overhaul and simplification, so that workers can understand exactly what they’ll be taking home and where a pay rise will actually mean they end up substantially better off.

“Sadly, the recent scrapping of the Office for Tax Simplification seems to signal that this isn’t a top priority for the current Government.”

A Government spokesperson said: “Tax simplification is a priority for this government, which is why instead of a separate arms-length body to oversee it, we will embed it into our institutions so it is at the core of all tax policy making.

“We’re committed to protecting those on low incomes which is why have steadily increased the tax-free personal allowance since 2010 to make it one of the most generous in the world, where 30 percent of people have been taken out of paying income tax altogether, and over 80 percent of taxpayers pay the basic rate – something only made possible by responsible management of the public finances.”





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The Rule Of 114 Can Tell You How Long It May Take

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Saving money is only the first step toward building wealth. The most important thing is making informed investment decisions and understanding the power of compounding. Sometimes, people are confused and eager to know how quickly their money can grow. That’s where the Rule of 114 comes in, offering a simple way to estimate how long it may take for an investment to triple in value.

The Rule of 114 is a widely used personal finance formula that helps investors calculate the approximate number of years required for their investment to grow threefold at a fixed annual rate of return. Based on the principles of compound interest, the rule provides a quick estimate without the need for complex financial calculations.

What Is the Rule of 114?

The formula is straightforward: 

Time to Triple (Years) = 114 ÷ Annual Rate of Return (%)

By dividing 114 by the expected annual return, investors can estimate how many years it will take for their investment to become three times its original value.

For instance, if an investor puts Rs 1 lakh into an investment earning a steady 6% annual return, the Rule of 114 suggests the corpus could grow to approximately Rs 3 lakh in around 19 years.

How It Works

At a 10% annual return, Rs 1 lakh could triple to Rs 3 lakh in about 11.4 years.

At a 12% annual return, the same amount could grow threefold in roughly 9.5 years.

At an 8% return, the tripling period would be approximately 14.25 years.

Benefits of Using the Rule of 114

The Rule of 114 is a useful tool for long-term goal setting. It can help individuals estimate the time needed to build a retirement corpus, save for a child’s education, or accumulate funds for major purchases such as a home.

The rule allows investors to compare different investment options based on their average expected returns and assess whether their financial goals are realistic.

Another advantage is its simplicity. Unlike detailed financial calculators or spreadsheets, the Rule of 114 provides a quick estimate that can be worked out mentally.

Limitations of Rule of 114

Despite its usefulness, the Rule of 114 comes with certain limitations.

Assumes constant returns over time: It assumes that investments generate a constant annual return throughout the investment period. In reality, market-linked investments such as stocks and mutual funds often vary from year to year due to market fluctuations, economic conditions, or company performance

Ignores the impact of taxes and inflation: The formula also does not account for taxes, inflation, investment costs, or changes in purchasing power. As a result, actual outcomes may differ from the estimated figures.

Not ideal for simple interest-based products: The rule is designed for investments that benefit from compound interest. It may not provide accurate results for instruments that offer simple interest.

In a nutshell, Rule of 114 offers a quick and practical way to understand the impact of compounding and estimate when an investment could potentially triple in value. While it should not replace detailed financial planning, it encourages objectivity and discipline in investing and helps individuals stay focused on long-term economic growth rather than short-term market fluctuations.

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What Makes Anthropic’s Fable 5, Mythos 5 Prized Assets Of United States

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Anthropic issued a statement on Saturday after the United States government ordered the suspension of access to its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models for all foreign nationals. 

The Donald Trump administration has cited national security concerns over the directive, noting that it applies to foreign nationals both inside and outside the United States, including Anthropic employees who are not US citizens.

ALSO READ: TCS Ties Up With Anthropic To Scale AI, To Equip 50,000 Associates With Claude

As a result, Anthropic said it must immediately disable access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 for customers to comply with the order. The company clarified that access to all other Claude models remains unaffected.

“We apologize for this disruption to our customers. We believe this is a misunderstanding and are working to restore access as soon as possible,” the AI major said.

Why The US Govt Went After Fable 5, Mythos 5?

The move comes just days after Anthropic launched Fable 5 and Mythos 5, which it described as some of its most advanced AI models. Fable 5 was notable because it is Anthropic’s public version of more advanced Mythos 5, released with cybersecurity safeguards and restrictions to prevent misuse. 

The models followed the release of Claude Mythos Preview in April, which drew attention for its enhanced cybersecurity abilities. On the release, Anthropic clarified that it planned a limited rollout, making the model available only to selected companies through its Project Glasswing.

Fable 5 can perform strongly in areas such as coding, research, reasoning, vision and knowledge work, according to the company. Because of its powerful capabilities, Anthropic has added safety measures that limit responses in high-risk areas such as cybersecurity.

Anthropic has so far ​limited its access to a group of about 200 organisations including ⁠the US government under the Glasswing program, after announcing in April that ​Mythos had uncovered thousands of software vulnerabilities.

Mythos 5 uses the same core technology as Fable 5 but with fewer restrictions. “Mythos 5 is the same underlying model as Fable 5, but with the safeguards lifted in some areas. Mythos 5 will initially be deployed through Project Glasswing, in collaboration with the US government, as an upgrade to Claude Mythos Preview. It has the strongest cybersecurity capabilities of any model in the world,” the company announced earlier.

Despite Anthropic’s assurances of safeguards for certain areas, the US government has banned these models for foreign nationals over cybersecurity concerns. The models’ ability to detect vulnerabilities and accelerate innovation makes them strategically important. 

According to Anthropic’s statement, the US government appears to have blocked access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 over concerns that users could bypass the models’ safety safeguards through a jailbreaking technique. This could result in users potentially having access to more powerful cybersecurity capabilities than intended.

ALSO READ: Anthropic Releases Mythos-Like Model Without Cyber Capabilities

But, Anthropic has argued that the demonstrated vulnerabilities were “minor” and that it is working to resolve the “misunderstanding” with the officials.

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Iran Embassy Hits Back At Trump Over Indian Seafarers’ Deaths, Blames US For Incident

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The Embassy of Iran in India on Saturday refuted the US President Donald Trump’s allegations regarding attack on an Indian vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, calling them “baseless”.

Further, it also accused Washington of attempting to divert attention from recent attacks on commercial ships carrying Indian seafarers.

In a post on X, the official account of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in India said, “The U.S. president’s accusation against Iran regarding an Indian vessel in the Strait of Hormuz is simply baseless. It is an attempt to divert public attention from the brutal fact that the U.S. has attacked 3 Indian vessels in less than a week and killed 3 innocent Indian sailors. That’s pathetic!”

The Iranian Embassy called America’s attack on Indian vessels, which resulted in the death of three Indian sailors, “brutal” and “pathetic”. 

The response comes after Trump accused Iran of being the perpretator of the the attacks on three vessels carrying Indian seafarers near the Hormuz Strait, despite the US Central Command having confirmed that the strikes were carried out by American naval forces.

ALSO READ: Did Pakistan, UAE Convince Trump To Call Off ‘Very Hard’ Attack On Iran?

Meanwhile, India has once more condemned Washington’s strike on Indian-flagged vessel, with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar calling them ‘unjustified’. 

“Spoke to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio this evening. I reiterated India’s strong protest at the attacks by the US Navy in the Gulf that killed three Indian mariners. Such lethal actions against commercial shipping are not justified,” he said in a post on X on Saturday. 

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