The government is considering which investments would be included in its newly created UK Isa.
The Isa was announced by Jeremy Hunt in the Budget on Wednesday (March 6) and would see an additional £5,000 allowance to be invested in UK assets.
Hunt said the decision to introduce the Isa was made after consultation with more than 200 representatives from the City and high growth sectors.
Consultation on the scope of the British Isa has now gone live and will run until June 6.
It said ordinary shares, collective investment vehicles, corporate bonds, gilts and cash could be included.
It sets out that as a starting point the government could replicate some of the previous approaches to Personal Equity Plans for the UK ISA.
Personal Equity Plans were a tax free wrapper to hold investments, discontinued in 1999, and replaced with Isas.
“The government believes that as these investments can already be included in Isas, and are understood by Isa managers, they would be easy to implement, while supporting the policy objectives,” said the consultation.
Taking the same approach as Personal Equity Plans could mean defining eligible investments as ordinary shares in companies that are incorporated in the UK and are either listed on a UK recognised stock exchange or admitted to trading on a UK recognised stock exchange.
The recognised stock exchanges are Aquis Stock Exchange, Cboe Europe Limited, and the London Stock Exchange, including the Alternative Investment Market.
The consultation also covers the possible approaches to transfers into the UK Isa.
Options being considered include allowing transfers from other types of Isas.
Though it said this could cause confusion as the same transfer rules do not apply to other Isas.
When it comes to rolling out the new Isa, the consultation does not set out a timeline for this.
The government wants to hear from existing Isa providers on whether they would consider offering the new product, and what they would need to deliver it.
The consultation added: “We recognise that providers will need time to familiarise themselves with this new proposition, and should they choose to offer it, make the necessary IT and reporting changes before any new products are offered.”
The full consultation documents can be found here.
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