H.J.Scott & Co – Plan | Save | Grow | Spend | Gift

12/08/202612/08/2026

Paying Dividends

If you don’t invest in a Stocks and Shares ISA with us currently, you are free to close this browser window. Go read something else. Nothing that follows is applicable to you. However if you own an ISA and you are still reading this, prepare to frown and curse.

When is a tax not a tax?

When a share is sold the money received has to go somewhere. For an ISA account, It remains as bank cash within the ISA. When we are ready to re-deploy that cash into another share the cash balance reduces as the share is purchased. This is a continual process. In the meantime interest is earned on the cash currently at a healthy 3.75%.

We have all been sold the concept of an ISA being free of dividend tax, capital gains tax and tax on our earned interest. In fact “Tax-Free!” is the phrase we are used to and read everywhere. Well not any longer. From April 2027 the interest received on the cash will be subject to a charge – not a tax, because ISAs are still tax-free aren’t they? Always have been always will be. The charge looks like a 22% interest tax being levied – but it’s a total coincidence that the tax on interest is also set at 22% for a basic rate tax-payer. Thankfully the charge does not climb to 42% for higher rate tax-payers, like tax on interest earned does. Our interest will be ~~stolen~~ taken at source to avoid pesky tax returns for everybody plus the government gets its greasy mitts on those ill-gotten gains immediately.

I think the cabinet reckons what we don’t see, we won’t miss. But those in the corridors of power are wrong. We never forget.

Houston? We Have A Problem

We use cash as a balancer across all portfolios. You cannot have a cautious or balanced attitude to investment risk and still invest 100% in equities. You need some safe stuff too. Currently nothing else is anything like as safe as good old cash giving a risk free return of daily interest.

07/08/202607/08/2026

Dry Spell

Met Office UK 1 Month Long Range Weather Forecast

The broad theme of high pressure remaining in place at least close to the UK seems most probable, with occasional more unsettled or changeable interludes, either resulting from Atlantic frontal systems or thundery plumes. This means that rainfall amounts overall are more likely to be below normal than above. Temperatures will probably be above average and some spells of hot weather and heatwaves are possible, especially in the south.

Are we any the wiser now? Was it worth the time it took to read this? Let’s look at how many “we don’t knows” feature in the above paragraph.

broad theme – at least close to – most probable – occasional – more unsettled – changeable – either – more likely – probably – some spells – are possible.

11 “we don’t knows”. 20 out of a total of 69 words. However we are talking about the relatively short term weather here, not to be confused with stating facts about the obviously changing climate. Here’s some climatology definitions-

Weather

NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) : “what you experience when you step outside on any given day.” NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration): “conditions outside right now in a specific place (rain, snow, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc.)”.

Climate

NOAA: “Climate is determined by the long-term pattern of temperature and precipitation averages and extremes at a location.” NASA: “The climate of a region or city is its typical or average weather” — determined by observing weather conditions over many years, typically 30 years or more.

Climate Change

NOAA: “changes in average weather conditions that persist over multiple decades or longer.” NASA: “a change in average conditions (temperature, rainfall, etc.) over a long period of time’.

All of the above definitions have been grabbed off the web by AI. So perhaps take them as a guideline only, but these are the guys with accurate measuring equipment and no axe to grind.

20/05/202620/05/2026

Reflections

This morning finds us over 8500 miles from the office, watching the sun rise over the Timor Sea off the Northern Coast of Australia. We are on our travels again, this time in celebration of 40 years of marriage. A ruby wedding anniversary! It is a little unsettling as my memories of ruby wedding celebrations centre around old couples, St. Gregory’s Social Club (famous as the club used for Peter Kaye’s Phoenix Nights) and finger buffets.

It seems apt to reflect on our married life so far, our journey, on a journey. A cruise, especially one like this one which will cover thousands of miles, is the perfect metaphor for our own personal journeys. They say travel broadens the mind. By definition – “It emphasises the idea that seeing and experiencing new places and ways of life enriches one’s perspective, helping intellectual and emotional growth”. Travel on a six star cruise ship certainly broadens the girth.

The only constant ….. is change.

Anyone who has travelled on the oceans and seas can tell you the sea is always there, it is constant, but it never remains the same. At times it looks almost oily and flat, reflecting the dark end of the spectrum, appearing charcoal black. Then again in shallower waters the sand beneath reflects a beautiful turquoise hue. However the real elements of change are the tidal flow and wind direction. At times working with the ship in the direction it is heading, allowing for a smooth passage. At others working against the ship making for a “sporty” period, which can last for hours or even days. Our life’s journeys’ also inevitably pass through calm and stormy periods.