the budget: some questions.

[SenoraPostrophe]

1. why do people keep going on about the "tax burden" as if the total amount of tax the country pays as a % of its total income had any relevance at all for anybody (well, anybody who isn't an economist)?

1. who are these people who managed to comment on the small print within minutes of its publication. are they super speed readers or what?

1. I have absolutely no idea - surely a better measure is how much an average family pays in direct and indirect taxes as a proportion of average income?

1. Everything that comes out of government these days seems to get leaked well in advance, so I doubt they are speed readers. Or maybe I'm just a jaded old cynic

Some elements of the budget is leaked to the press but obviously some are kept for Gordon Brown to deliver - like the 2p cut in the basic tax rate, which was his finale.

I think for most of the people on here, the most relevant bits are

1.)Child Benefit for the first child up 15% by 2010 to £20 per week (POSITIVE)

2.) Level at which family with 2 childten pay tax is now at £22500 and set to rise to £24250 by 2009 (POSITIVE)

3.) MOST SIGNIFICANT - Basic rate of income tax to fall from 22p to 20p from next April (POSITIVE)

4.) BUT #3 CLAWED BACK by scrapping of 10p income tax band from April 09. (NEGATIVE)

5.) Top rate income tax (40%) to be applied to earnings of £43000 rather than £38000 (POSITIVE) but National Insurance ceiling set at £43k too (NEGATIVE)

Generally speaking, seems to be +ve for those earning between £18k and £35k. Most of the losers willbe lower income households wtih no children. Most families with children also gain.

Additional taxes on cigarettes and alcohol (expected), bit more concession on inheritance tax etc., more expensive airfares, fuel goes up as well. NET NET, personally our family will probably be at worst flat, but i dare say it, probably slightly up - which is shocking for a Gordon Brown budget. Am sure it will be clawed back somewhere else....somewhere down the road....

You forgot to mention that the small business corporation tax rate is going from 20p to 22p. On the personal front I think we are probably about £100 better off, but that is well and truly negated by more expensive airfares as dh travels abroad a lot on business, and by the small business corporation tax rate . Gordon Brown seems to hate small businesses, never mind that collectively small businesses employee a vast number of people.

Ooo I didn't know they'd harmonised top rate tax with NI upper threshold. excellent idea, they should have done it years ago. shame about the 10p rate though.

I thought small business corporation tax had gone down? these "experts" on the newsy kept saying it had gone, and that something else had gone up but they didn't say what had gone up.

Now this is just conjecture but

When I was at the VAt office (er, mid 90's LOL) so some time ago) we would get all these envelopes, all numbered. Then just before the budget we'd get a fax saying 'open envelopes X, a and ww or whatever. All the rest wold be returned sealed, we would never get to know what mysteries were hidden within.

We had to know as we operated an enquiries centre.

Now, I do not know but wonder if that option is also extemded to commentators, the CAB, IOD etc- people who need toa dvise and be in the know? Except I suspect its just fired out by e-mail or on the net these days, obv.

The withdrawal rate for child tax credit is also going up to 39% which means that more gets taken off as your income increases

I thought small business corporation tax had gone down?

Nope - Corporation tax is going down by 2p - Small business tax is going up by 2p...........go figure

Corporation tax for big firms has come down and for small firms has gone up so that Labour can rely on big business to keep them in power. Hard luck for the small business owner

I can tell you how they know as I used to work at HMT - at least this is how it was done when I was there. As the Chx is speaking, the key commentators such as TUC, CBI, Child Poverty Action Group etc are faxed a crib sheet of the key facts which are all illustrated to show relevant gains and losses. The press office has a similar crib sheet that goes to journalists. Prob not faxed anymore but that's the general drift!

Also, people like the Institute for Fiscal Studies spend months preparing for the budget and have already sketched out all the possible options so once they hear the details they are all ready to go with their illustrations and commentary.

Budget time was always really really super hard work but fun, actually.