Spear's Wealth Management Survey

Stephen Hill

Stephen Hill is a businessman who has been published on classical economics and on European philology and philosophy.

Why does Ukraine want to join the EU?

Ukraine has a well-educated middle class, but is essentially bust and is currently in receipt of IMF funding – yet again

The nuts and bolts of EU membership

What does the car industry tell us about the UK's position in Europe?

Squeezing the tax havens until their pips squeak

The sovereign debt crisis has now forced the issue into the open, as central treasuries grab every penny that they think is, or should be, due to them

Hollande Continues to Wobble, and that Suits Us Just Fine

Stephen Hill doesn't mind if the Flanby lives up to his name. The Eurozone will crash and burn just fine without him.

The Conservative side of the coalition is crumbling

The party that is meant to conserve the countryside is driving its unnecessary high-speed train-set straight through it

Bury this busted flush of a euro

Some of us have warned for many years that this is where the utterly mad ideas expressed in the Maastricht Treaty would end up

Will Enrico Letta lead Italy out of the eurozone?

Italy is the only country that might unilaterally pull out of the eurozone

Why the gold price fell so far

The sudden and completely unexpected collapse of gold was a huge market intrusion or manipulation - but by whom?

Margaret Thatcher: An appreciation

When the Conservative Party matricides saw best to stab Thatcher in the back, the United Kingdom was a country transformed, holding its head high in the world

Tesco's retreat from America shows British retailers don't learn

This escapade by the UK’s biggest retailer was always destined for disaster, and so it has proved as Tesco is forced to write off a cool (reported) £1 billion

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Our specialists solve your HNW problems (gratis!)

In this new anti-tax-avoidance era, when so many tax reliefs have been withdrawn, I've heard that investing in a Business Property Renovation Allowance scheme is one of the few remaining good opportunities for maxing your tax position. Is it true that you can get up to 100 per cent tax relief on the amount invested? And what exactly are these schemes? How do they work? What are the upsides? Downsides?

In this climate, it is a relief to see one potentially attractive tax allowance come through unscathed from recent criticism