The Budget Thread

[dizzyblonde]

I am surprised nobody has posted one up...

.....air your grumbles here!!!!

[Biker Biggles]

I have heard endless gripes over the years about how Gordon Brown robbed the private pensions,and a lot more recent gripes about how this lot are robbing public sector pensions,but I think today's rather muted statement about taxing pensioners income will prove to be the talking point when the full implications unfold.

As for the 50% tax rate thing,they really cant have it both ways.Either it has been a failure because it raises so little money or it is a huge drain on the movers and shakers who boot up the economy.It cant really be both yet to hear the squeals from the wealthy about it over the last few months,you would think it was bankrupting them,but Osbourne today said it was a tiny amount of money.

Pretty standard.

Personal allowance making average person £10pm better off.
fuel staying same but VED increasing with inflation.
Corporation tax cut by 1% (woo) but bank levy increased to prevent banks getting a big advantage in corporation tax cut.

Cigarette duty up 5% above inflation (bbc estimates this at about 37p per pack of cigs).

[timwilky]

He gives with one hand and takes with the other.

Raising the basic rate tax threshold is welcome. I think there is something wrong where minimum rate employees must pay tax. but then lowering the 40% threshold means that those on "higher" rate see no advantage of the raise in the basic rate threshold.

As for the age related tax limits I see little point to them. Costs do not significantly rise because you are older unless you require care/assistance and then you get benefit help for those needs.

First budget in ages where I dont feel I'm paying for everyone elses benefits.

Good I say!!

[NTECUK]

But a major part of your tax is still spent on welfare

The system on that needs major overhauling.

[Mr Speirs]

I still can't understand how they've not thought to reduce fuel duty to reduce and stabilise the cost of fuel to £1 a litre.

Fuel runs the entire economy, everything has become more expensive due to the cost of moving products and people. It's affecting everything from the idividual, small business to large corpoations. I understand that they don't want to be seen to encourage pollution and all that but at what cost? The entire collapse of the world economy?
If the cost of fuel was stabilsed to £1 a litre I personally think that the UK economy will be massively boosted.

I agree that we need to limit our reliance on fossil fuels but until an alternative is viable then we either spiral to doom or reduce the burden.

If you actually go through and look at how much tax there are its a wonder how we are in a crisis at all.

Income tax
Fuel Duty
VAT
Captial Gains Tax
Inheritance Tax
Council Tax
National Insurance
VED
Stamp Duty
Fuel Tax (household)
Airport Tax
Lottery Duty
Achoholic Liquor Duty
Tobacco Duty
Climate Change Levy
Hydrocarbon Oils Duty
Landfill Tax
Insurance Premium Tax
Customs Duty
plus loads more.

[Littlepeahead]

The hike in personal tax allowance is a good thing, but I need to find an expert to work out paying a bit more into my pension to avoid paying 40%, but as soon as I start thinking about it my brain melts. Anyone know a good financial advisor?

The one tax that really really bugs me is that I get private medical insurance through work. Because it is taxed as a benefit I pay tax on the value (around £700 a year) but by having this I have saved the NHS over £20,000 in the last 3 years with 2 operations done privately, where I paid a portion of the treatment costs myself, yet I get taxed for freeing up an NHS bed.

[Dipper]

Originally Posted by Littlepeahead

The one tax that really really bugs me is that I get private medical insurance through work. Because it is taxed as a benefit I pay tax on the value (around £700 a year) but by having this I have saved the NHS over £20,000 in the last 3 years with 2 operations done privately, where I paid a portion of the treatment costs myself, yet I get taxed for freeing up an NHS bed.

It's the same if you send your kids to private school or any other private service you choose to take that saves the State money.

[Bibio]

the government could offset fuel prices by doing away with VAT returns, this would mean you would pay vat on everything as a company as well as an individual.

stop the stupid 'make the rich pay' attitude and start giving them intensives to want to stay in this god forsaken taxed to the hilt shizz hole of a country of ours. why should the super rich pay more in tax, this might just let them take on more staff or charge less for their services/goods.

interest rates on credit cards/loans are high enough without hitting the banks with more charges all the government is doing is forcing them to put their prices up to cover their losses.