Like Schrodinger’s cat, the “British ISA” announced by Jeremy Hunt in his Budget speech this week can be described as existing in two states: it is simultaneously a good idea, and as useful as a chocolate teapot.
An individual savings account (ISA) is a tax break the government will give you for saving money. You can put in up to £20,000 per financial year and you don’t pay tax on the interest. If you use it to invest in stocks and shares, you can also avoid paying tax on the returns, such as capital gains and dividends. That’s what the proposed British ISA (Brisa? UKisa? Britisha?) is designed to encourage – it gives savers an extra £5,000 of yearly allowance, if they invest it in British companies.
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