Investors: Standard Life cuts the pain of fresh tax demand

Here’s what sounds like a sensible move from a finance firm. Standard Life has agreed to pay the fund rebate tax liability until the end of the year direct to the Revenue for those who use its Wrap and FundZone platforms, or fund supermarket.

The company is also converting all funds on its platform to low-cost rebate-free funds, known as ‘clean’ funds, a change that is being made across the industry.

The Revenue’s move to tax the rebates caught the investment industry on the hop when it was announced in March. While the payouts are expected to be banned from 2014, to bring platforms into line with the outlawing of commission for advisers, the tax hit was unexpected.

Standard Life’s move will mean its customers will avoid the added annoyance of having to declare the rebates on self-assessment forms, cutting down on paperwork and calculation. It would be good to see other finance firms act to make life a little easier for us.