ISA limits raised - and could include AIM shares

Chancellor George Osborne on Wednesday announced that the government will consult on allowing shares listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) to be included in a stocks and shares ISA for the first time.

According to HM Treasury: "The government will consult on expanding the list of Qualifying Investments for stocks and shares ISAs to include shares traded on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) equity markets such as the Alternative Investment Market and comparable markets."

However investors or smaller AIM-listed companies shouldn't jump for joy just yet. Such a move is unlikely to take effect before the 2014/15 tax year: the Treasury would be keen to fully explore the tax implications of allowing AIM-listed shares into ISAs when investors in many AIM-listed companies already qualify for business tax relief and are exempt from inheritance tax if held for two years or more.

Tony Vine-Lott, director general of the Tax-Incentivised Savings Association, says: "We are particularly pleased that there is to be a consultation on AIM shares and ISAs. It has always seemed to us to be inequitable for these investments to be excluded from a stocks and shares ISA and we have made constant representations to have this changed. We therefore fully support the proposal."

Osborne also announced an increase in the ISA contribution limit to £11,520 in the 2013/14 tax year that begins on 6 April, up from this year's limit of £11,280. The maximum that savers can contribute to a cash ISA will also increase from £5,640 to £5,760. Junior ISAs (JISAs) and child trust funds will, for the first time, also have their annual limits increased in line with the Consumer Prices Index, from a current limit of £3,600.

Keith Evins, head of UK funds marketing at JP Morgan Asset Management, says: "Today's announcement to increase ISA limits to £11,520 is good news for savers. But it is not just the ISA limit in itself that is important; we as an industry need to spend more time and effort on transforming 'consumers' into 'savers' and encouraging more people to take out and contribute to savings accounts in general and tax-efficient vehicles such as ISAs in particular."