How capital gains tax encourages bad investment decisions

The rules on capital gains tax are absurd, says penny shares expert Tom Bulford. They encourage us all to be long-term investors and show a complete lack of understanding of how the stockmarkets work.

Last month, at the request of my wife, we went to see the Grumpy Old Women show at Oxford's New Theatre. I don't know whether she was trying to tell me something, but, fortunately, I am pretty thick skinned in such matters. Anyway, the theatre was packed to the rafters, almost exclusively of middle-aged women nudging each other with cries of 'Oh yes! My husband never cleans the bath either!' and then roaring with laughter.

As far as I am concerned a little moaning goes a long way and after almost two hours of listening to Jenny clair, Linda Robson and Dilly Keene sounding off about modern life I was getting pretty grumpy myself. All the same, judging by the obvious success of this show, its TV equivalent and programmes like Room 101, there is a good market for grumpiness. So here are a few contributions of my own:

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Tom worked as a fund manager in the City of London and in Hong Kong for over 20 years. As a director with Schroder Investment Management International he was responsible for £2 billion of foreign clients' money, and launched what became Argentina's largest mutual fund. Now working from his home in Oxfordshire, Tom Bulford helps private investors with his premium tipping newsletter, Red Hot Biotech Alert.