Dec 1 2006
There have been calls on the treasury to increase the annual individual savings account Isa limit by £2,000 to £9,000.
Nationwide reports that this level is equal to the maximum annual investment previously permitted in tax exempt special savings accounts (Tessa). The Isa scheme replaced the Tessa in 1999.
It added that the effect of inflation has further reduced the true value of the maximum annual investment into the savings accounts.
Stuart Bernau, executive director of Nationwide, said: "The tax breaks for saving simply aren't worth what they were seven years ago and Nationwide believes that it is time to redress the balance and restore the limits to their true value, thereby achieving their full potential."
Price comparison firm MoneyFacts recently expressed hopes that the simplification of the Isa process would result in a reduction in the belief that the accounts are over-complicated and aimed purely at the wealthy.
