Over-50s will be able to put aside up to £3,000 extra in tax-free savings from today, as new ISA allowances come into force.

The amount people can save in a tax-free ISA has risen from £7,200 to £10,200, of which half can be saved in cash and half in stocks and shares. The new limit applies to those born on or before 5th April 1960. Younger savers will have to wait until 6th April 2010.

The new limits, which were announced by Chancellor Alistair Darling in this year’s budget, are designed to help savers who have been hit by the steep drop in interest rates.

“I am determined to help savers, because while low interest rates have helped millions of homeowners, I also know that they have hit those who rely on their savings to get by,” he said.

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On October 6, the rules for Individual Savings Accounts change for those over the age of 50, with the annual allowance for tax-free savings rising from £7,200 to £10,200. Under 50s will have to wait until April to see their ISA limit increase.

However, according to research by the Post Office, two-thirds of those eligible for the increased allowance are still unaware of the new rules.

Richard Norman, head of Post Office savings, said: “With more people feeling the financial squeeze it is important to make your money work as hard as possible. But most people don’t know about the changes.”

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Over 300 banks in the UK and abroad have been told to hand over details of UK taxpayers who have offshore accounts.

The decision by the newly established First-tier Tax Tribunal will enable HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to identify thousands of people who are hiding untaxed money abroad in offshore bank accounts.

“Today we have successfully applied to get information on the offshore accounts and assets of customers of over 300 further banks,” said Dave Hartnett, Permanent Secretary for Tax at HMRC.

“I urge any of them who have unpaid tax liabilities connected to these accounts now or in the past to come forward and make a full disclosure during the NDO because we will use the information provided by the 300 banks to pursue those people who continue to flout the UK’s tax laws,” he said.

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More than half the money earmarked for the government’s “cash for bangers” scrappage scheme has been used up, according to figures from the Department of Business.

So far, 154,927 cars have been bought under the programme, which aims to breathe new life into the UK’s ailing car industry. The government has promised to underwrite 300,000 deals altogether in which motorists receive a £2,000 discount off a new car when they trade in a car over 10 years old.

Half of the cash is provided by the treasury, with the car industry putting up the rest.

The scheme has been most popular in the South East of England, which accounted for 18% of deals under the programme. 12% of purchases were made in the East of England, with 11% in the North West and South West.

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City professionals employed by banks to help their clients avoid tax could be fined by the Financial Services Authority or struck off its register.

The financial watchdog is considering whether it should play a role in enforcing the government’s new code of conduct, under which banks are required not to sell products that enable tax avoidance.

Hector Sans, chief executive of the FSA, said that the regulator would discuss the topic in its autumn consultation on the FSA’s “fit and proper” test.

The test is used to assess whether City workers are “fit and proper” in terms of their professional conduct. If the FSA deems them to have failed the test, it can fine them or strike them off the register.

The FSA has not yet published details on how it will handle the voluntary code, which the watchdog predicts will be in the consultation stages till September. The government is asking all banks to sign up to the code, warning that those who refuse to, or who do not conform to the “spirit” of the current tax laws are opening themselves to greater scrutiny from HM Revenue & Customs.

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HM Revenue and Customs is warning taxpayers to ignore emails claiming that they are able to receive money back on tax payments.

The UK’s tax authority said that the email, dated 15th June, is not an official communication, but a scam.

The message suggests that its recipients have qualified for a cash payment from HMRC, and is one of a series of scams involving the HMRC name.

Losses from scams in the UK are estimated to total £3.5bn a year.

Earlier this month, HMRC said that a large number of taxpayers had received emails offering tax rebates, but stressed that these emails were scams. The tax authority never sends out offers of a rebate by email, and nor does it ask customers to fill out an online form to receive a tax rebate.

Personal Accounts, the new government pension scheme to be launched in 2012, is likely to have a “relatively small” effect on those who qualify, research suggests. It will be aimed at those who cannot, or do not join a company pension scheme.

A study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) estimates that around 5 million people did not qualify for a company pension scheme in 2005. However, the IFS research shows that those on the scheme would accrue average contributions of just £900 that year under the new system.

“This suggests that the increase in pension saving, and therefore overall saving, brought about by the reform is likely to be relatively small,” the IFS said.

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Up to 4.8 million UK drivers would be prepared to switch from four wheels to two during the recession, according to a new survey by the Post Office.

The majority of these cited reduced costs as a reason for ditching their car in favour of a moped or motorcycle, with 31% of drivers attracted by fuel efficiency. A further 27% of drivers believe that riding on two wheels is an easier way of getting around.

Whilst UK car sales are in stark decline during the recession, registrations of motorbikes and mopeds are increasing year-on-year, with a 24% increase in these types of vehicles on the road this spring. This trend is hardly surprising when you consider the benefits of riding a motorised two-wheel vehicle. As well as halving their fuel consumption in miles per gallon on a moped or lightweight motorcycle, motorists can benefit from road tax starting from just £15 a year, free parking in the majority of British towns and cities, no congestion charges and lower insurance premiums.

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Britons will have to work up to their 70th year if the UK’s public debt is to be brought under control within a decade, according to a report from the National Institute for Economic and Social Research (NIESR).

The institute said that increasing the age one can receive the state pension by five years could help to ease the UK’s national debt. Other options include raising basic income tax by 15p to 37p in the pound and slashing government spending by 10%, which would hit front-line services including education and the NHS.

“The choice is we have got to raise income tax a lot, cut spending a lot or work longer,” Ray Barrell, senior research fellow at the institute told the Daily Telegraph.

“There is a stronger case for extending working lives because we’re all living longer.”

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Chancellor Alistair Darling has announced a new top tax rate of 50% which will come into effect in April 2010 - a year earlier than predicted. The 50p tax rate replaces the planned 45p new top rate announced in November’s pre-budget report and will apply only to the 2% earning over £150,000 a year, who will also see tax relief on their pension contributions curbed.

The chancellor attempted to draw a clear line between Labour and the Conservatives as he announced the 50p income tax band for the highest earners after unveiling a stark Budget report on the state of the UK economy.

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