The Budget

[Dan]

What do you guys think?

I'm liking:

• Personal tax allowance rise
• Greater decrease of corporation tax
• Increase in AMAPS (milage allowance)
• Long-term merge of income tax and NI along with other tax simplifications
• Fuel duty cut and stabiliser - although when you add it up, it's not much
• Investment in research and new enterprise zones
• Small business rate relief

Certainly more favourable than the emergency slash-and-burn budget of last year.

On the flip side, between the lines there's still the usual Tory ideal of a "tickle down" economy. The measures to support those on low incomes, particularly first time buyers, seem tokenistic. Nothing in this budget counteracts the increase in VAT for individuals.

Time will tell if this is enough to stimulate growth, counteract those cuts and create some jobs.

Thoughts?

[willg54]

they're all a bunch of :corey:

there's some good points and bad points...but as you say, better then last years!

this economy needs some real help!

[Ross]

Nothing in it really for me... fuel is a small, almost insignifant token but I guess i do appreciate the change in mentality. Cancelling the 'escalator' at least shows they are stopping the continued advances against the motorist.. just let it increase at inflation for goodness sake!

The tax rate increase isn't really much more than inflation anyway, the erosion of the HT band means those who push to succeed pay through the nose for their hard work and it worries me that the continued attack on the banks will push them offshore, which would leave a gaping hole in our economy.

They need to simplify, continue to reduce the cost of the state, and try to keep a lean, efficient economy that will be competitive in this changing world. Reducting in business rates is a step in that direction but tax simplifications and reducing the endless number of taxes and benefits needs to happen. The loss of jobs as a result is painful, but with the right balance it can be done.

On a plus, at least their not trying the tactic of spending our way out debt... talk about trying to dig to australia to get out of a hole FFS.

[driftin jo]

Fuel duty cut and stabiliser .
Some things are not what they seem !!
quoted as ' fair fuel stabiliser ' , when the oil price is high tax rises will be limited to inflation at most – though when the oil price is lower the rises will be bigger.

Or to correct this statement petrol is now average of 1.33 litre and will go up with inflation ,
however if the oil price half's they put the tax up to keep the price the same so they make loads of money out of the oil price falling and we get none of the benefit !!!! WTF , this is fair ????
basically the price of fuel is never going down from now on, that's it, we have been ****e over , totally !!!

[Acidburn]

basically the price of fuel is never going down from now on, that's it, we have been ****e over , totally !!!

Sounds about the same as usual

[Dan]

They need to simplify, continue to reduce the cost of the state, and try to keep a lean, efficient economy that will be competitive in this changing world.

Unfortunately, having worked in the public sector, it seems the real problem won't be solved.

Labour and the Tories bat back and forth about making the public sector "smaller" or "bigger", but nobody ever wants to do the hard work of making it efficient and effective.

When the government asks a public sector body to save money, generally what happens is that body's board then asks its senior managers to save money. This wave then continues down the food chain until it reaches people who have nobody underneath them to lay off - these people then take the fall themselves.

The ultimate convenience is that these guys tend to be on less-favourable contracts - a lot of them rolling-temp, making them easy targets for lay offs. Thing is though, despite what the Daily Mail would have you believe about everyone in the pub sec being hideously overpaid, there's actually a huge disparity and you have to sack 4 of these guys so one old wood manager can keep his job.

The result? Services are disproportionally cut, hard working people lose their jobs, but the incompetant, overpaid mangers with safe contracts and nice pensions stay on.

I completely agree that we need to streamline the state. We just need to do it the hard way. Scalpel, not axe.

[benntenn67]

On the flip side, between the lines there's still the usual Tory ideal of a "tickle down" economy. [/QUOTE]

not sure what a "tickle down" economy is ????

[Dan]

On the flip side, between the lines there's still the usual Tory ideal of a "tickle down" economy.

not sure what a "tickle down" economy is ????

hahaha, whoops! Meant "trickle down", although the idea of a "tickle down" economy sounds interesting

[PeteRR]

Noticed this evening when filling up that they had put yet another penny on a litre of V-Power in the last few days, probably in preperation. The barstewards!

[benntenn67]

hahaha, whoops! Meant "trickle down", although the idea of a "tickle down" economy sounds interesting

oh .... I had visions of the VAT man using a feather to collect payments

[Error404]

the public sector don't know their ear hole form their **** hole. If all the public services were run by people who had a clue how the real world works they could halve the costs and get the same results. Without generalising they are all useless *****.

[andy10v]

Thoughts?

Gov has no money of its own, it has to get it from somewhere, we are going to get shafted one way or another.

Public sector stuff tends to be run as a joke, compare the way any public service runs to a private one.

My thoughts sway towards ******ing off elsewhere as soon as I start making any money, however I don't like tidal waves, volcanoes, earthquakes, poisonous spiders etc, so maybe its not so bad here after all

Stop paying benefits

[rj scotty]

If the you ran a busisness, small or large in the same way public sector bodies are run you would make a huge loss in year one.

[Error404]

big time. They don't have a ****ing clue.

[Sonic]

Labour and the Tories bat back and forth about making the public sector "smaller" or "bigger", but nobody ever wants to do the hard work of making it efficient and effective.

Would you not say that the coalition is making a damn good go at making the public sector more efficient and effective?

I'm personally very impressed given the circumstances.

The lying, spineless, hypocritical, thieving ***** known as labour really do anger me, sniping from the sidelines at the current effort.