YOUR MONEY THE WORLD’S TOP 20 UNIVERSITIES
‘In the great cascade of academic bouquets, all is not roses’
1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 2 Harvard University 3 University of Cambridge 4 University College London (UCL) 5 Imperial College London 6 University of Oxford 7 Stanford University 8 Yale University 9 University of Chicago 10 California Institute of Technology (Caltech) 10 Princeton University
Bell of Stirling University calculates that in an independent Scotland Scottish taxpayers would be tapped for an extra £222 million a year to give an estimated 4,000 school leavers from England, Wales and Northern Ireland ‘free’ university tuition. Currently the administration has to extend its
offer of ‘free’ higher education to students from other EU countries under European anti–discrim- ination laws. But this protection does not apply within the same EU member state, allowing Scot- tish universities to charge youngsters from the rest of the UK up to £36,000 for a degree. This anomaly would be removed after
Scottish independence. If First Minister Alex Salmond wanted to continue giving Scottish students ‘free’ tuition, he would also have to make the same offer to youngsters across all of the UK’s nations and regions. On the present level of degree costs, calls are
already being made to reform the Scottish system. Jeremy Peat, director of the Edinburgh-based
Ask the experts We answer your financial queries
12 Eth Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology)
13 University of Pennsylvania 14 Columbia University 15 Cornell University 16 Johns Hopkins University 17 University of Edinburgh 17 University of Toronto 19 Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne 19 King’s College London Source: QS World University Rankings 2013
David Hume Institute, said a more intensive three-year degree would save money and get graduates into the workforce more quickly. The proposal is controversial because Scot-
tish universities see the four-year degree as the gold standard in higher education, giving students an unrivalled breadth of study. However, its status has come under greater scrutiny in recent years with concerns over the cost to the public purse of studying for four years. And the number of students from the rest of the UK at Scottish universities fell from about 5,900 in 2009 to 4,600 in 2011 though it increased a little in 2012. Pricey it may be in Scotland, but it is all
relative. The cost of just one academic year for residents at America’s prestigious Harvard University is $54,596 or just over £34,206. Whether at Edinburgh, St Andrews, Dundee or Glasgow, the cost of university education is set to keep rising if those prestigious world rank- ings are to be maintained.
Q: How can I ensure that the rate of tax I pay is not excessive?
A: Traditional financial arrangements can mean we pay an unnecessarily high rate of tax, but many people are taking the opportunity to think differently about their financial affairs to address issues such as the retention, protection and growth of family wealth and, in doing so, they can also reduce their tax rate. One example is that it can be much more tax efficient to hold investments in shares or property in a company (often referred to as a personal investment company), compared to holding them personally or through a trust, because of the greater availability of deductions and a lower rate of tax. For example, tax relief is available for the costs of running the portfolio, losses on property rental can be offset against other income, capital gains are taxed at a much lower rate, and the investment income and gains generated can be used for contributions into a pension plan. If held personally, the rates of tax are higher and none of the deductions and tax treatments mentioned for companies would apply. In addition, if the taxpayer needs to withdraw the original amount invested, this can
David Payne, Partner Baker Tilly
Tel: 0141 307 5000
www.bakertilly.co.uk
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be taken free of tax from the personal investment company. In the long term, income can be extracted via dividends, say in retirement, when the individual’s personal rate of tax is likely to be lower. Personal investment companies can also be used for a number of practical situations including extracting cash from trading companies, retirement planning, the transfer of family wealth, and university funding for children. Personal investment companies can be structured to suit your personal circumstances and flexed to adapt as your and your family’s circumstances change over time.
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