The Budget 2011 - (22nd March)

[Larry]

well with two days to go untill George Osborne, heaps more misery on us all what are you hoping for are you worried that there could be a futher rise in either tax / NIC or VAT.

[SiHart]

This is going to be a bit of a blow: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...e-2247764.html

Si xx

[Si Hunt]

Generally it won't be a bad budget I don't think, as they'll want to make it look as though they are "softening the blow" of the cuts so far. So haven taken everything away, this will be the budget where they give us a few crumbs back and expect thanks.

Si.

[Rob McCow]

Frankly they should have shut down the Jersey tax dodge years ago. It may benefit consumers, but it's a despicable practice that's torn the high street a new a-hole.

Ahem.

[Si Hunt]

I begrudgingly but broadly agree, though as posts on the HMV Thread show, even without the loophole the high street has proved incapable of sensibly setting prices so they don't rip off consumers. So I find it hard to sympathise much.

Si.

[Rob McCow]

The supermarkets will keep the prices of new CDs down to £9.99. At least, until their competition is well and truly squashed.

[Si Hunt]

I think I'll continue to use Play etc. purely because not only are the prices good but the service is too. I wouldn't mind too much if the prices rose a bit. HMV has gathered bad will from me because of their pricing antics on the high street, so I'd rather use Play on-line than HMV on-line. It's not so much that the prices are HIGH, but that they're inconsistent.

Si.

[Captain Tancredi]

I think the online retailers have been preparing for this for a while- I recently ordered two DVDs from Amazon in the same order and one was dispatched from the UK and one from Jersey, purely becuse the price of the second was enough for it to make a difference. What it doesn't do, of course, is increase the consumer's purchasing power, so it's interesting to see that the music and DVD industry seems to be keeping neutral because unit sales will no doubt go down over the next few years unless they cut RRPs to compensate.

Otherwise I think that with local elections due in about six weeks and the measures from the emergency budget last year still kicking in, it should be generally uncontroversial. For the coalition to divide over its first budget would be disastrous for all involved.

[SiHart]

Mr Osborne may not have a great deal of room to manouevre in as it turns out: http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/th...wing-inflation

Si xx

[SiHart]

The key points of Chancellor George Osborne's Budget on 23 March 2011.

FUEL, CIGARETTE AND ALCOHOL DUTIES
Fuel duty to be cut by 1p per litre from 1800 GMT

Planned 4p per litre rise due in April to be delayed to 2012

Annual fuel duty escalator to be scrapped until 2015

VAT on fuel will not be reduced

No additional changes to alcohol duty rates

Tobacco duty rates up by 2% above inflation, duty regime to be reformed

INCOME TAX
No personal tax increases

Personal tax allowance to rise a further £630 to £8,015 in April 2012

Consultation on long-term plan to merge income tax and National Insurance

50% top rate of tax to remain but review of how much it raises

UK ECONOMY
2011 growth forecast downgraded from 2.1% to 1.7%

2012 forecast also down from 2.6% to 2.5%

Inflation set to remain between 4% and 5% in 2011

BORROWING
Forecast borrowing of £146bn this year, £2.5bn lower than anticipated

Borrowing to fall to £122bn next year, dropping to £29bn by 2015-16

National debt forecast to be 60% of national income this year, up to 71% in 2012

OTHER TAXES AND ALLOWANCES
Council tax to be frozen or reduced this year in every English council

10% discount on inheritance tax for people leaving 10% of estate to charity

Rise in air passenger duty to be frozen this year

Private jet users to pay passenger duty for first time

Levy on so-called "non-doms" up to £50,000 for those resident in the UK for 12 years

Tax avoidance clampdown to raise £1bn this year

Support for families in the south-west of England with water bills

HOUSING
Government-backed shared equity scheme to help 10,000 first-time buyers

HELP FOR BUSINESS
Corporation tax to be cut by 2% in April, not 1% as previously planned

Bank levy to be adjusted so banks do not pay less tax as a result

43 tax reliefs to be scrapped as part of simplification of tax code

£350m of business regulation to be scrapped

No new regulation on firms with fewer than 10 staff for three years

Business rate relief holiday for small firms extended for another year

New rules to require planners to prioritise growth and jobs

£100m funding for science facilities

21 "enterprise zones" to be launched, backed by tax incentives

JOBS AND SKILLS
Funding for 12 further university technical colleges

40,000 new apprenticeships for young people out of work

Funding for 100,000 work experience placements

PENSIONS
Accepts Hutton review of reform of public sector pension contributions

Long-term aim for £140 a week flat-rate state pension - not to apply to current pensioners

TRANSPORT
£100m for repairing potholes in England

£200m support for regional railways in England

GREEN MEASURES
£2bn extra funding for Green Investment Bank - to launch in 2012

The Institute for Fiscal Studies calculates that measures due to come into place in April 2011 will be equivalent to a loss of £200 per household on average, however that figure rises to £480 per household if the January rise in VAT is included

Well there we are.

Si xx

[Si Hunt]

Inflation set to remain between 4% and 5% in 2011

Optimistic!

Nothing at all there to stop us being fleeced by the power companies.

Si.

[Larry]

well the tax threshold for low income people going up to £8000, by April 2012. was good news although I feel this is more to keep the Lib/Dems happy rather than the Consevratives wanting to do it.

[SiHart]

Yeah, we'll get about £45 a year back. Woo.

Si xx

[Perry Vale]

The tax threshold is a nonsense if you ask me. I've done three months bar work in the last year, and I paid tax on it. When do I get this back? Knowing I might get it back a year later doesn't help me pay my bills or buy food.

How much money is wasted taking tax from people, only to give it back later? Yet another government, and budget, that claims it's going to cut "red tape", ignoring the bleeding obvious.