The Budget (At a glance)

Baaheeduk

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The key points from Chancellor Gordon Brown's eleventh Budget:


INCOME TAX

Basic rate of income tax to fall from 22p to 20p from April next year.

Lower starter rate of 10p to go, meaning all those who pay income tax will start at 20p in the pound - meaning little difference likely to take-home pay.

Top-rate income tax threshold will rise to £43,000 from April 2009.

CIGARETTES AND ALCOHOL

Beer will rise by 1p a pint from midnight Sunday, cider by 1p a litre, wine by 5p a bottle and sparkling wine by 7p. Duty on spirits will be frozen.

Cigarettes to rise by 11p a packet. VAT on nicotine patches and similar products to be cut from 17.5% to 5%.

TRANSPORT

Fuel duty up 2p per litre, in line with inflation.

Road tax on highest-polluting vehicles up to £300 and to £400 from April next year.

The least polluting vehicles while have their duty cut to £35.

EDUCATION AND FAMILIES

Child benefit, for a first child, will rise from £17.45 a week to £20 a week by 2010.

50,000 16 to 17-year-olds who sign activity and learning agreements will receive a training wage in return for gaining skills.

Education spending in England will rise from £60bn this year to £74bn in 2010. From now to 2010 spending per pupil rise by a further 20 per cent, 10 per cent in real terms, to £6,600

Public investment in science will rise from £5bn this year to £6.3bn by 2010-11.

INHERITANCE/CAPITAL GAINS

Tax exemption for capital gains will rise from £8,800 to £9,200, and will be £18,400 for married couples.

Inheritance tax will threshold to rise from £285,000 now to £350,000 in 2010.

PENSIONERS

Tax-free allowance for pensioners under 75 will rise in three stages from £7,280 to £9,770 in 2011. For over-75s, the tax free allowance will rise annually from £7,420 to by £10,000 by 2011.

Grants of between £300 and £4,000 for pensioners installing insulation and central heating in their homes.

All the 125,000 people who lost their pensions because of company insolvency will get help with a financial assistance scheme increased from £2bn to £8bn.

ENVIRONMENT

Until 2012 all new zero carbon homes up to £500,000 will be exempt from stamp duty.

The landfill tax will rise by £8 each year from April 2008.

COMPANIES

Corporation tax will be cut from 30p to 28p from April next year.

Tax rate on small companies to be raised in three stages from 20p this year to 22p in 2009.

THE ECONOMY

Mr Brown said the British economy was growing faster than all the other G7 economies.

Inflation will be on target in 2008 and 2009, according to forecasts.

In the last year investment has grown by 6%, business investment by 7%, and inward investment by 10%. Business investment is forecast to rise again by more than 7% this year.

In the last year employment has risen, with 220,000 more men and women in work.

In 2008, Britain's growth will be the highest in the G7, between 2.5% and 3%.
Britain's net borrowing, which in the early 1990s went as high as 8% of national income is this year just 2.7%. It will fall to 1.4% by 2012.

GOVERNMENT SPENDING

Asset sales will rise from £18bn to £36bn, including a £6bn sale of the student loan book and further financial and corporate sales at home and overseas.

Investment in schools, hospitals, security and defence and infrastructure will rise from £43bn this year to £60bn by 2012.

Total government spending will rise to £674bn by 2010/11.

An extra £400m to be allocated to the Ministry of Defence to cover overseas commitments in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Investment in the NHS in England will rise by £8bn this year.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

£50m for a 10-country initiative across central Africa to prevent the destruction of the second largest rain forest in the world.

£800m to the Environmental Transformation Fund, jointly run by the international development and environment secretaries.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk_politics/6474997.stm

Published: 2007/03/21 13:49:45 GMT

© BBC MMVII
 
All im gonna say is fookin rediculous! especially the car tax and fuel duty! 400 quid!!!! its robbery legalised!
 
horray were getting some tax back, but where were the stealth taxes, we didn't notice yet..?....
 
"CIGARETTES AND ALCOHOL

Beer will rise by 1p a pint from midnight Sunday, cider by 1p a litre, wine by 5p a bottle and sparkling wine by 7p. Duty on spirits will be frozen.

Cigarettes to rise by 11p a packet. VAT on nicotine patches and similar products to be cut from 17.5% to 5%.

TRANSPORT

Fuel duty up 2p per litre, in line with inflation.

Road tax on highest-polluting vehicles up to £300 and to £400 from April next year.

The least polluting vehicles while have their duty cut to £35."



so the 2p tax cut is pulled back with 1p rise in beer, 1p in wine and Road tax up by telephone numbers and the scrapping of the 10p tax which means that we have an increase in the initial 10p for the first so many thousands which means an increase of 100%n if you get my jist.
 
Quote= "Mr Brown said the British economy was growing faster than all the other G7 economies."

FACT- since labour have been in power the top richest 1% in the UK have increased their wealth by huge massive amounts, while in real terms the poorest in the UK have been made poorer by the economic growth (many facts to back this).
Those people anywhere in the middle, in real terms, have prettty much stayed so about the same (according to official figures), so my question is.... if we have the fastest growing economy why the hell isnt anyone benefiting? Why does the growth only feed the super rich?

If we no longer get economic growth then the hard working 'masses' will, in real terms, also be running backwards too.
 
"Road tax on highest-polluting vehicles up to £300 and to £400 from April next year??"

Guys what does this mean,Cars Over 2 litre or what s???

FFS

they should only put on new cars anyway , l bet my td5 diesel with cat and slow revving throws out less that a boy racer .. and its a hell of alot safer for the wife and kids to be in .. will have to pay but they have alot of me the fookers
 
look like again he give with one hand but take a lot more with the other hand

what a joke :-(
 
"Road tax on highest-polluting vehicles up to £300 and to £400 from April next year??"

Guys what does this mean,Cars Over 2 litre or what s???

FFS


yes guys what cars fall into this band now ?
 
It doesnt go on engine size its worked out on emissions. Go here to see what your official emissions figure is- http://www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk/search/search.asp
This only applies to vehicles registered after march2001, if your C02 figure is over 185 then road tax will be £205 but will probably rise more by next year.
Only if your vehicle is registered after march2006 and your C02 figure is more than 225 will you be classed as a 'Gas Guzzler' and you will now pay 300 this year, but then 400, or maybe soon 600 or 800 or 1500 per year whatever :).
 
*** CaUtIoN - RanT!!! ***

F**king w**kers!

I have a 1995 fiesta 1.8 diesel, it is too old to be catagorised by emmisions, so because of the 1.8 litre engine it gets hammered for tax, even though it does 55 to the gallon when you take it steady (gas guzzler my arse). Last year the tax was £185 which I think was the highest rate, so now I guess im looking at £300 to tax a £500 car - guess whats going to happen, its going to get scrapped, plain and simple - is that good for the environment????

The fat cats with their 5 litre V8 mercs wont be arsed, whats £300 to them, and lets face it, if you can afford the £18000 for a toyota prius you could also afford the extra tax! Whereas im a poverty stricken student who has just been priced off the road, well done T**ts.

edcase




I also worked out yesterday that under the new income tax regimes, most people in the lowest paid jobs in the country will be worse off than they were before, beacuse of the loss of the 10% band

Makes me angry!!!!
 
Last edited:
Hi all
I like the 5% on nicotine patches
That is silly and odd
Gain taxes from smokers with the big duty
drop taxes on people willing to give up
Cut your nose off to spite your face
Now with all the other rules brought in smoking is a thing of the past
Sounds to me like he wants everyone to use patches in pubs etc
Then he can put more taxes on the beer
Also hes worrying about the pollution WOW
Doesnt he realise UK is a drop in the ocean
Unless usa and china start sorting things we wont matter
Oh by the way im a smoker who buys a years worth on holiday
And i drive a 1.4 escort so hes helped me i think
 
Hopefully the road tax system for gas guzzlers will be sensible and not based on engine size, as some cars with 2.5 tdi engines are alot more eco friendly then some older 1.0 litres due to changing technology.

In terms of all the people who drive those outrageous 4x4's such as the X5's, new range rovers etc. I think they should pay more as usually they are the worst culprits in terms of c02 emissions. Plus if they can afford to run those types of vehicles, they should be able to afford road tax.

Personally I think, we should employ similar tactics to thos of Japan, where cars beyond a certain age should no longer be on the road. I see cars on the road which are completely un roadworthy and some are 20 years old, these cars cant be good for the environment. But don't think the government would be able to manage it correctly, as I am also aware there are alot of people out there, who wont be able to replace their older vehicles and genuinely need them.

Until then, I recommmend everyone get economical cars with moderate sized engines.

I used to be a smoker, but have no sympathy for anyone who smokes or drinks as it is bad for your health, and the same people cost the NHS alot more in treatment in their older years then the tax they pay.

Personally I was hoping for alot higher rise in both cigarettes and drink. Health is more important and anything which is likely to help people stop smoking can only be good.
 
"Road tax on highest-polluting vehicles up to £300 and to £400 from April next year??"

Guys what does this mean,Cars Over 2 litre or what s???

FFS


depends what u drive, my 2.0L MG ZT BMWdiesel Engined manual £140 but if it was an auto then £200 plus.
 
Hopefully the road tax system for gas guzzlers will be sensible and not based on engine size, as some cars with 2.5 tdi engines are alot more eco friendly then some older 1.0 litres due to changing technology.

In terms of all the people who drive those outrageous 4x4's such as the X5's, new range rovers etc. I think they should pay more as usually they are the worst culprits in terms of c02 emissions. Plus if they can afford to run those types of vehicles, they should be able to afford road tax.

Personally I think, we should employ similar tactics to thos of Japan, where cars beyond a certain age should no longer be on the road. I see cars on the road which are completely un roadworthy and some are 20 years old, these cars cant be good for the environment. But don't think the government would be able to manage it correctly, as I am also aware there are alot of people out there, who wont be able to replace their older vehicles and genuinely need them.

Until then, I recommmend everyone get economical cars with moderate sized engines.

I used to be a smoker, but have no sympathy for anyone who smokes or drinks as it is bad for your health, and the same people cost the NHS alot more in treatment in their older years then the tax they pay.

Personally I was hoping for alot higher rise in both cigarettes and drink. Health is more important and anything which is likely to help people stop smoking can only be good.
u healthy people dont prop up the nhs unhealthy peeps like me do lol
 
Hopefully the road tax system for gas guzzlers will be sensible and not based on engine size, as some cars with 2.5 tdi engines are alot more eco friendly then some older 1.0 litres due to changing technology.

In terms of all the people who drive those outrageous 4x4's such as the X5's, new range rovers etc. I think they should pay more as usually they are the worst culprits in terms of c02 emissions. Plus if they can afford to run those types of vehicles, they should be able to afford road tax.

Personally I think, we should employ similar tactics to thos of Japan, where cars beyond a certain age should no longer be on the road. I see cars on the road which are completely un roadworthy and some are 20 years old, these cars cant be good for the environment. But don't think the government would be able to manage it correctly, as I am also aware there are alot of people out there, who wont be able to replace their older vehicles and genuinely need them.

Until then, I recommmend everyone get economical cars with moderate sized engines.

I used to be a smoker, but have no sympathy for anyone who smokes or drinks as it is bad for your health, and the same people cost the NHS alot more in treatment in their older years then the tax they pay.

Personally I was hoping for alot higher rise in both cigarettes and drink. Health is more important and anything which is likely to help people stop smoking can only be good.

I drive the worst polluting car on the road as it lets out 390grams of CO2 into the air. I also only drive around 5000 miles/year. Am I worse than a driver with 220g/co2 who does 20k miles/year? I think not! I think its ridiculous that I will have to pay the highest road tax when there are people out there who will be letting more CO2 into the air. People should be paying tax based on mileage and CO2 emmisions.

Also smaller companies will be paying more tax under the new budget. 3 years ago I started a new business and it went quite well. After year 3 I was forced into moving my business abroad as I was paying half of all pre tax profits to Gordan Brown. As a result I had to get rid of 7 people which hurt like mad. The UK does not encourage small enterprise. There are much better countries in the EU or elsewhere where you can be based and pay much less tax. Bigger companies on the other hand....

On the other hand larger companies can setup EBTs which are 100% tax free. There is truly one law for the rich and one for the poor. ANyone who has had a bit of success in a small business will tell you the same. You grow,make loads of money and then sod off and leave the UK leaving loads of people unemployed. It just aint right!
 
I drive the worst polluting car on the road as it lets out 390grams of CO2 into the air. I also only drive around 5000 miles/year. Am I worse than a driver with 220g/co2 who does 20k miles/year? I think not! I think its ridiculous that I will have to pay the highest road tax when there are people out there who will be letting more CO2 into the air. People should be paying tax based on mileage and CO2 emmisions.

Also smaller companies will be paying more tax under the new budget. 3 years ago I started a new business and it went quite well. After year 3 I was forced into moving my business abroad as I was paying half of all pre tax profits to Gordan Brown. As a result I had to get rid of 7 people which hurt like mad. The UK does not encourage small enterprise. There are much better countries in the EU or elsewhere where you can be based and pay much less tax. Bigger companies on the other hand....

On the other hand larger companies can setup EBTs which are 100% tax free. There is truly one law for the rich and one for the poor. ANyone who has had a bit of success in a small business will tell you the same. You grow,make loads of money and then sod off and leave the UK leaving loads of people unemployed. It just aint right!

Totally agree with everything you said mate, the problem is the government is trying to band everything together quickly and as easy as possible for them. The example you gave of having a polluting car but covering less mileage but cars doing more mileage as a result of not being as pollutant highlights perfectly how complicated the whole thing is and how the government has approached it from the wrong angle altogether.

There is no doubt the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, but that is never going to change. We are living in one of the most expensive economies in the world and to be frank its down to poor money management and lack of future planning, instead we're left to face knee jerk reactions from a government who has completely lost touch with society.

I know people arent impressed by the so called pay as you go system, but sounds like it will be the fairest way to go. If road tax was dropped along with fuel duty as proposed, and then drivers were charged based on their mileage couple with how bad their cars were on emissions, that seems to be the fairest way about it, because as you said, you do considerably less miles in a car banded as having high emissions, as some cars which are just under the threshold yet do alot more mileage resulting in overall higher emissions.

Biggest problem I have is I honestly dont believe the current government is organised enought to successfully introduce and manage a pay as you go system, I also think they know this so carry on introducing half measures to tackle congestion problems and keep environmentalists like me happy (which we aint by the way).

Imran
 
u healthy people dont prop up the nhs unhealthy peeps like me do lol

lol, I think it will all amount to nothing, what with these duty rises. It is only a matter of time before the NHS goes bust, and we all have to start going private. On top of that things such as smoking will affect health insurance premiums as they already do with alot of private companies such as bupa and prudential.

If you begin trying to quit now mate, you will save yourself a bundle in the future. We are the last remaining "elite economy" in the world still offering free health services, and that doesnt sound fair but would expect a cut in taxes if the system reverted.

Also all those idiots such as hooligans, friday night drinkers who get into fights etc, would have to claim against their insurance everytime they decide to do something stupid, which would mean their insurance claims going up each year. Ask yourself how many times do most people visit a hospital.

And before you point it out, a government scheme should already be in place to help people with natural health problems such as terminal diseases etc. Any self induced problems due to smoking and drinking, well tough but the person should fork out for it.
 
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