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Gold vs Labour's Possible VAT HIKES · The Bullion Advantage | Wealth Protection, Politics and Finance Insights From The #1 UK Gold Dealer

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Are you prepared for what might be coming in less than three weeks' time?
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: We face a worrying but not surprising situation.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: Chancellor Rachel Reeves has warned that the ever-deepening economic problems, which they've gotten us into, mean she's going to be making tough choices on tax.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: So what are these choices?
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: How might they affect you?
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: And what can you do to protect yourself?
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: One thing we all need to be prepared for, however, there will be tax rises in the November budget.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Bullion Advantage, the podcast giving you weekly insights into key global events and markets, whilst helping you protect and grow your wealth with physical gold.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: Let's get a specialist opinion on this, shall we?
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: Today I'm joined by one of the Direct Bullion's senior gold specialists, James Byrne.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: James, thanks for getting back on the podcast with me.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_01: Hi Jake, yeah, nice to be back, mate.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um yeah, busy couple of weeks in in gold, so uh yeah, good to get the time to come back and say hello.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, thank you so much.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: Let's get into it, shall we?
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, let's go.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: So, speaking at Downer Street on Monday, Rachel Reeve described her commitment to the government's fiscal rules as ironclad, but she refused to rule out any tax rises, saying each of us must do our bit.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: When she says each of us must do our bit, what do you think she's really saying?
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I think it's um a polite way of saying we're about to pay more.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_01: Normally when when politicians talk about doing our bit, it usually means higher taxes or reduced services.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_01: The the government's spent heavily and they're looking to ordinary people and businesses to foot the bill.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_01: It's framed as like shared responsibility, uh, but I think in reality it's a sign that the burden's shifting onto taxpayers rather than the government you know tightening its own belt.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: What economic pressures do you think are driving the government towards these tough choices, as they put it?
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I I think we're definitely seeing that the fallout of years of overspending, inflationary policies and rising debt, interest payments and government borrowing are soaring.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_01: You know, there's growth stagnating, limited room to to manoeuvre.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: So I think instead of focusing on stimulating productivity, encouraging enterprise, that the government's now resorting in tax hikes to to plug these holes, which is you know choking choking off the growth that we need to sort of get the go economy going.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: I've got to ask, do you think any of this is ideological or do you think it is simply a fiscal necessity?
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I I think it's both.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_01: I saw that the government borrowed 110 billion.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um so it's definitely definitely a fiscal necessity because you know the sim uh the the books just don't balance.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: But there's also an ideology at play, you know, that this government leans towards big state solutions, believing more taxation and redistribution can can solve structural problems.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: A centre-right perspective would you know argue for the opposite empowering businesses, encouraging savings and and rewarding in investment.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and uh one way of looking at it ideologically, you know, this stuff was in their manifesto, their popularity is already way down, and this surely can't help.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: So, what does Labour's future look like, do you think?
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: You know, trust is everything in politics.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: So once it's gone, it's it's it's hard to rebuild.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_01: I think, as you said, you know, at the minute there's a lot of unhappy people.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: People people are fed up.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: It's hard enough as it is at the moment.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_01: And when you you know rise rise taxes, people uh people get angry, especially you you know, you just turn the news on now, everything in the world is is is is scary.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_01: You know, people are scared to go out and walk around at night time.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: Especially if you've got a nice watch on.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, nice watch.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_01: You you see it in London, you know, we we work in London and uh you you hear the stories and it's it's not nice to see.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_01: But if if Labour keep breaking promises, voters are gonna start to look elsewhere to parties offering economic realism, you know, lowering taxes.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: P people don't want to, you know, pi people want competence and honesty, especially when their household budgets are under pressure.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_01: Credibility gap could easily open up uh if the government keeps shifting the goalposts.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: And one of the one of the tax rises that they're talking about, and possibly one of the most worrying that could rise is VAT.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: What impact could a VAT rise have on everyday essentials and the cost of living generally?
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: Really, really weird one.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: I uh my fiance, she uses the app Vintage.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: And I could not believe it because you don't sell expensive things on Vintage, you you pay your tax, your income tax, buy these clothes, and then you sell them for half the price.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_01: She got to a point where she tried to log into uh her app this at the start of the week, and um it's now saying that you've got to fill out this form and complete HMRC regulator, whatever it was, Jake, and I just couldn't believe it.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, a VAT rise hits absolutely everyone, but it hits the lower and middle income families the hardest.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_01: No, everyday essentials get more expensive, inflation gets uh another push upwards.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: It's a regressive move, but because if it takes proportionally more from those with less for families already struggling, you know, higher energy and food bills, it is it's the last thing they need.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, people are really gonna start to feel the pinch, aren't they?
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_01: Uh same with same with business, you know.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: If it's gonna affect them then massively.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's interesting about the vintage.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like Labour may have seen a little market where people are getting something quite cheap and thought, oh, there's an opportunity there, baby.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, well, I don't know if that was uh an old thing.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_01: I I I don't use it myself, so but if it's a new thing that they've done, but um I just couldn't believe it.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_01: It was she's made£250 from selling her old clothes on vintage, which you've already paid the tax on, yeah, and now you want more.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_01: I really don't understand that.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: So how could rising VAT push small businesses into possible problems and maybe even into closure or insolvency?
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_01: Well, the the trouble is they already operate on thin margins.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you raise VAT, they either have to absorb the cost or cut into their profits or pass it on to customers, you know, risking lower sales.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_01: So many can't afford either.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: So it it adds more red tape and cash flow strain, you know, especially for those trying to stay afloat after COVID, after the pandemic, it it was really tough, and now it's just gonna force, force more stress and and more struggle onto onto the everyday business owner, which I think's tough.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's again, it's tax on on growth, and that's the opposite of of what we need, the country needs to stimulate growth.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: Precisely.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: I've said it previously, but if you're making your local coffee shop or your local plumber charge 20% more for their services or 20% more for a cup of coffee, it's like you just said, sales are just gonna go down and everyone's just gonna start feeling the pinch.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: We really need to support small businesses.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: 100%.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_01: Well, even in London, you know, you go to buy a beer, seven, eight pounds.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_01: It's crazy.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: Seven's alright nowadays.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I wouldn't say that.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know where you live, Jake, probably somewhere somewhere fancy, but um I I don't like paying seven pounds for a pint.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, it's uh it is tough.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_01: You you've seen inflation increase the price of your everyday goods already now for small business owners to hype the prices up, you know, that's gonna be a real, real tough, tough pull for them.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: So if VAT does go up, what can people do to protect their purchasing power?
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I think that the main thing is diversifying and you know hold assets that aren't tied up to to government policy or fiat currency.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, working in gold, well, I can flick it back to gold.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_01: So gold is a VAT free asset.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_01: Physical gold has historically held its value when currencies are under pressure.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_01: I think I said the other week on another podcast that if you look back to 2007 to 2008, the last you know, real recession, the pound went down 35%.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: In that same year, gold went up 43%.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_01: So there's an inverse relationship with uncertainty, the pound dropping and gold going up.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_01: It's a finite resource and it doesn't rely on government promise, if if that makes sense, Jake.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, yeah, people are turning to gold because it offers real purchasing power, it protects you against inflation, economic uncertainty, geopolitical tension.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: So it especially, I think it's important in times like this to have something physical that you have control over.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and relevant to today's topic, it is VAT free.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: Are we seeing increased demand for physical gold ahead of this budget?
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: And if we are, what are the what are the possible reasons for that?
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_01: What whenever there's talk of tax rise or fiscal tightening, that demand tends to rise.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_01: You know, people get a little bit anxious, as I say, the the tax burdens increasing, they in their head instantaneously think, right, I've got to do something now.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, the the demand, as I say, the last couple of weeks, especially for us, has been uh really, really, really busy.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_01: But people are looking for stability and independence from government decisions that can erode their savings.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_01: So they're just looking for safe places to protect and and and grow their money.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: And I I mean, if you look at premium bonds, for example, very popular maybe five, ten, fifteen years ago, but the average return the last time I checked on premium bonds, you can just type this into Google is in or around three percent, barely keeping up with with the cost of living.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, if your money and and the pound is devaluing and your money in the bank or in premium bonds for argument's sake is stagnant, every year goes by, you're essentially losing losing value, purchasing power.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: Not to sit here and say gold's there to make you thousands and thousands, it's there to protect what you do have.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_01: You've probably worked extremely or people have worked extremely hard for what they've got today, and they want to make sure that that money's working hard for them.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_01: So that that's when we see people flocking to physical assets, as I say, demands demand's gone up.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: And final one for someone who's considering gold for the first time, what would you suggest as their first step?
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, sure.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I think that the first step is to think of a palatable figure in your head, you know.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_01: Gold's one of those things, I view it very similar to property in a sense where it's a physical, tangible asset over the last 20 years has performed really, really well.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_01: So the confidence there in the product itself, but it's a new new market to you.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_01: The difference between gold and property is if you're buying a property in London, at least need 30 to 50,000 pounds for a deposit.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, to buy gold, you can start off with£100.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_01: So I'd say always start with a palatable figure, get that delivered, see how the process works, and you can always build on that as time goes on.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and and as I say, it's also dealing with a decent company, you know, you you want to do your research on who you're doing business with, what sort of affiliates that the company has, and and that will make your life a lot easier, getting a good level of service.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: So before I let you go, is there anything important or anything you're speaking to clients about that you want the listeners to hear?
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_01: Uh yeah, well, I mean, what whilst we're on gold, what I'd say to to everyone is uh around this time of year normally, because um it gets very busy, the markets get get a bit choppy.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_01: So what I always say is if you're looking to purchase gold, you know, especially before the budget, we normally see a bit of a spike in the price.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: Also on the lead up to Christmas, you've got you know the Chinese New Year, Diwali, and and Christmas that's a time where a lot of people purchase gold.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_01: So um it's nice to get your foot in the door before the storm comes.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_01: It's a little bit like driving a car, you'd put your seatbelt on before you go.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_01: So if it is uh something that people are seriously considering, it'll probably help to you know get yourself uh a foot in the door before before things go up.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and like you just said, start with a comfortable amount and and take it from there.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, well that's it.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_01: As I say, it's all about comfortability.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_01: If you've never bought gold before, you want to make sure that you're receiving the gold, seeing how the market works, you're happy.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_01: And then as I say, I think massive massive for us at the moment is people coming away from traditional ways of saving.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_01: As I mentioned, premium bonds, ICEs, savings accounts that are are just beating the cost of living.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that then you can start looking at adding adding your funds into the market and get the get the ball rolling, build build a nice portfolio over time.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: Great.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: Well, James, thanks so much for joining me today.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: Really appreciate it.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: Super informative.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for having me again, Jake.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_01: Appreciate it.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_01: Being good.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_01: Cheers, mate.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: Talk to you soon.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: Bye-bye.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening to this week's episode of the Bullion Advantage.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: What's clear is this the direction of travel from government is towards higher taxation, tighter control, and less financial freedom.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: So the real question becomes are you prepared?
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_00: Not just for this budget, but for the next five years of uncertainty, inflation risk, and shifting policy.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: That's exactly why so many people are diversifying into physical gold.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: It's one of the few assets that sits outside the banking system, cannot be printed, diluted, frozen, or revalued by political decision.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: If you've been listening and think it might be time to take a closer look at gold, you should get a copy of our guide to tax-free gold, absolutely free, at guide.directbullion.com.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: That's guide.directbullion.com.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: Also, don't forget to hit that subscribe button on YouTube, drop a like as well.
• 13:13
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• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: Next time we'll be unpacking the latest robbing Rachel report, as well as any other important updates from the next week.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: But for now, remember to share this with anyone who's on the fence about gold.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: Comment your questions below and we'll answer in the next episode.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much for listening to this week's episode of the Bullion Advantage.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: The purchase of gold does not constitute an investment or offer financial returns.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: Gold is considered a store of value and not an investment product.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: Past performance of gold is not indicative of future performance.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: Prices and values of precious metals can fluctuate and are influenced by various market factors.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: Direct bullion does not provide investment or tax advice and recommends that you conduct your own independent research before making any purchasing decisions.