Budget

[Gatt]

Anyone watching/Listening to it?

[36Degrees]

No - I tend to periodically check the at-a-glance page on the BBC's news website. BBC News - Budget 2011 at-a-glance: George Osborne's key points

[sonofsanta]

Just had a quick catch up now, looks like it's shaping up to be a normal Tory budget, I fear :/

 

Also not sure if I'm meant to care about the "most families £45 a year better off" thing. £3.75 a month doesn't stretch too far when the price of fuel has gone up every week for the last 4 weeks in a row.

[CAM]

Looks like they are starting on the education sector now. 24 new tech colleges to be made, they may need tech staff?

[Gatt]

Personal Tax Allowance up by £1,000 and up to £8,105 next April

 

Anyone know what that actually equates to per month?

[Gatt]

Fuel Duty down 1p per litre as of 6PM tonight

No increase next week..

Fuel stabilizer introduced depending on the price of a barrel of oil.

 

Will it have any noticable effect? I'm not sure

[srochford]

Personal Tax Allowance up by £1,000 and up to £8,105 next April

 

Anyone know what that actually equates to per month?

 

Almost nothing. Don't forget that National Insurance goes up - there's some info here:Budget 2011: using CPI to calculate tax explained - Telegraph (look at the section "how badly will people be hit")

 

1p off petrol is better than 1p on petrol but it's hardly making a change; on the AA figures for petrol prices, the government now get an extra 2p per litre in VAT since January (and that's ignoring the increase in VAT on 1 January) - the net effect of the change is that George Osborne is still sticking his hand deep into your pocket to take as much as he can (unless of course you're a big company in which case you're going to pay far less tax. Still, we have some advertising agency threatening to come back to the UK so I suppose it's not all bad :-))

[mthomas08]

I occasionally looked on the suns website to see the little bar telling me whats going on.

 

As a coming first time buyer it is good, the fuel tax change feels a bit pathetic to me but lets see.

[Gatt]

I pass 4 petrol stations between home and school and NOT ONE of them have taken the 1p off this morning

I'm guessing they are going to argue that they have, but had to add it back on to increasing oil prices

[jcollings]

I pass 4 petrol stations between home and school and NOT ONE of them have taken the 1p off this morning

I'm guessing they are going to argue that they have, but had to add it back on to increasing oil prices

 

Our Asda has. It was 137.9 for diesel yesterday and now it's 136.9 - what will I do with all that new found wealth!

[Gatt]

Dont spend it all at once

[mthomas08]

Our Asda has. It was 137.9 for diesel yesterday and now it's 136.9 - what will I do with all that new found wealth!

 

My feeling exactly... 1p does sound rather pathetic. Only people who HAVE to drive everyday will be driving everyday I guess having your own personal driver every day taking you 1 mile to work really doesnt effect you so much.. (aimed at the gov).

[Gatt]

If you save up the all the 1p saving you get a whopping £3.65 - should just be enough for a loaf of bread

[penfold]

If you save up the all the 1p saving you get a whopping £3.65 - should just be enough for a loaf of bread

 

But if you cant save up, just be careful where you spend a penny, some people will take offence ;-)

[AyatollahPies]

I occasionally looked on the suns website to see the little bar telling me whats going on.

 

As a coming first time buyer it is good, the fuel tax change feels a bit pathetic to me but lets see.

 

If you want to live in a badly built shoebox perhaps. Otherwise, it's just a bung to help House builders.

[jlucas]

The local Tesco here dropped the price from 139.9 to 127.9.

 

Needless to say I went in and filled up.

[localzuk]

Seems like a fairly good budget to me, I don't see what you're all complaining about. What else could they do, whilst also continuing to reduce the deficit?

 

Extra money for pothole repairs - good

Money for first time buyers - good

Increased personal allowance - good

No new increases on alcohol duty - good

Increases on cigarette duty - good

Investigating merging tax and NI to simplify things - good

Reduced petrol costs, and introduction of a 'stabiliser' - good

Tax relief for the gaming industry to aid R&D - good

 

All during a time when financially, the country has major issues. So, we should be pleased that lot was possible!!

[pooley]

Seems like a fairly good budget to me, I don't see what you're all complaining about. What else could they do, whilst also continuing to reduce the deficit?

 

Extra money for pothole repairs - good

Money for first time buyers - good

Increased personal allowance - good

No new increases on alcohol duty - good

Increases on cigarette duty - good

Investigating merging tax and NI to simplify things - good

Reduced petrol costs, and introduction of a 'stabiliser' - good

Tax relief for the gaming industry to aid R&D - good

 

All during a time when financially, the country has major issues. So, we should be pleased that lot was possible!!

 

Really? With a Wife & 2kids to support I must say they haven't helped me at all. I am still not getting a pay rise for 2 years, not getting cost of living etc. So 1p off petrol, I don't smoke, rarely drink, don't play games, and i'm not sure how "Investigating merging tax and NI" helps me right now?

[localzuk]

Really? With a Wife & 2kids to support I must say they haven't helped me at all. I am still not getting a pay rise for 2 years, not getting cost of living etc. So 1p off petrol, I don't smoke, rarely drink, don't play games, and i'm not sure how "Investigating merging tax and NI" helps me right now?

 

The problem is, you expect them to 'help you right now'. They can't help you right now. There isn't the money, we have a massive deficit, and are massively in debt! Like anyone during tough financial times, we all have to make changes to our lifestyles to manage.

 

You also have to stop thinking 'now' and think about financial stability in the future, both for you and for your kids... Surely you want them to grow up in a country which isn't massively in debt, and in deficit and have to go through all this again then?

 

The budget that was announced helps businesses grow. Business growth increases employment, which increases tax revenue, and therefore allows for the government to spend more. It also means that people have more cash in their pockets, and can buy more in the shops, increasing employment there too. Business growth is key here to future stability.

[Gatt]

Really? With a Wife & 2kids to support I must say they haven't helped me at all. I am still not getting a pay rise for 2 years, not getting cost of living etc. So 1p off petrol, I don't smoke, rarely drink, don't play games, and i'm not sure how "Investigating merging tax and NI" helps me right now?

 

Blame the previous Gov't for the current mess - this lot are trying the best they can to ensure that our economy doesn't collapse completely

If they cut taxes across the board, then yeah it'll help "right now" - but what about a year or more down the line when there is bugger all money to pay for anything like the NHS or god forbid - defending ourselves from the likes of Terrorism or Libya, etc..

 

But hey, so long as you get a few more coppers in your pocket..

[HallX]

Seems like a fairly good budget to me, I don't see what you're all complaining about. What else could they do, whilst also continuing to reduce the deficit?

 

Extra money for pothole repairs - good

Money for first time buyers - good

Increased personal allowance - good

No new increases on alcohol duty - good

Increases on cigarette duty - good

Investigating merging tax and NI to simplify things - good

Reduced petrol costs, and introduction of a 'stabiliser' - good

Tax relief for the gaming industry to aid R&D - good

 

All during a time when financially, the country has major issues. So, we should be pleased that lot was possible!!

 

Disagree with this one. This'll just push the smokers more and more to the counterfeit market. Less tax paid, more into the criminal coffers and more ill people on the NHS due to more poisonous substances in the fake "tobacco".

 

I find it strange that you wag your finger at the naughty smokers yet you think its good that the alcoholics are exempt from any tax rises this time round.

[ButterflyMoon]

Am kinda with Pooley on this one. Year in year out we have been increasingly taxed in many different forms almost to the point where we are as well working for nothing. It has gotten progressively worse over the last 10 years or so. Yeah we all have to look at the bigger picture blah de blah de blah but the endless getting from month to month with not much light in sight is at times just too much. To me the last lot and this lot are just performing legalised theft from all of us!!

[sted]

I pass 4 petrol stations between home and school and NOT ONE of them have taken the 1p off this morning

I'm guessing they are going to argue that they have, but had to add it back on to increasing oil prices

 

pased several fuel stations this moring some have gone UP by 2p most expensive i saw for derv was 1.42.9

 

Seems like a fairly good budget to me, I don't see what you're all complaining about. What else could they do, whilst also continuing to reduce the deficit?

 

Extra money for pothole repairs - good

Money for first time buyers - good

Increased personal allowance - good

No new increases on alcohol duty - good

Increases on cigarette duty - good

Investigating merging tax and NI to simplify things - good

Reduced petrol costs, and introduction of a 'stabiliser' - good

Tax relief for the gaming industry to aid R&D - good

 

All during a time when financially, the country has major issues. So, we should be pleased that lot was possible!!

 

it all depends how much you believe them about defecut etc does it really need to be brought down this quickly causing this much pain would paying it off over a longer time be less stressful to the economy thus generating more tax money be better.

 

Blaming the last govenment dosent help either all partys as far as i can see are out for themselves and blow anyone else just blame the last lot

 

i think they said the increase in the pre tax wages exuates 2 to 1st class stamps a week yipee

[Gatt]

Us "alcoholics" as you describe us, tend not to blow carcenogenic smoke back into your face and choke you....

 

For the record - yes I drink - about 2 cans a week maybe 2 glasses of wine... (1 of each on a Saturday and again on a Sunday) yet I'm probably classed as a "Binge Drinker"

 

And before anyone starts on the alcohol related deaths (ie drink-driving) - how many smokers light up at the wheel? How many drop their fag/lighter in the footwell and perform the Funky Chicken Dance trying grab/extinguish it whilst still trying to drive at 80mph down the motorway

 

Or - worse still - use a Mobile phone whilst taking a draw or lighting up - and yes - it happens - on a regular basis..

 

IMHO 1 Ciggie is a bit more lethal than my few drinks....

Edited March 24, 2011 by Gatt

[MK-2]

it all depends how much you believe them about defecut etc does it really need to be brought down this quickly causing this much pain would paying it off over a longer time be less stressful to the economy thus generating more tax money be better.

 

You have a credit card bill of £100,000 and have two options:

 

- paying the minimum off each month and having more to spend elsewhere because of it, but knowing it will take you many years to pay off because the interest will pretty much cancel out what you pay

- paying a lot of it off each month, meaning it might be tougher to afford things, but knowing that once it is paid off quicker, you are clear of debt?

 

paying less off the deficit may be less stressful to the economy in the short run, but i'm sure someone here said the interest is something like £1million a day. so the longer we leave it, the more we will end up paying.

and i usually dont agree with parties blaming each other, but as the previous govmt were in power for a long time, they had more than enough chance to change things, this government is making the changes that make them unpopular but is dragging us out of debt