Aha! Doing things for Scotland so we'll all say 'Isn't the Westminster government wonderful?' And rush off in our droves to vote AGAINST separation/independence.

Sunday trading laws WILL be relaxed for the 8 Sundays during the Olympics - ONLY!

Taxation being revised.Loopholes and anomalies to be eradicated.

Pension allowances to be simplified and pension amounts to be increased - or I think that's what they said.

I don't need to watch it to tell you whats gonna happen.... we're all gonna have less money in our pockets...... there you go i saved you some time

Tobacco duty to increase 5% ABOVE inflation from tonight. Didn't quite catch what they were saying about alcohol duty.

Fuel duty cut by 6 pence.

Edit: Sorry, that's a mistake about the fuel duty - see later entries.

 Give out with one hand and take back with the other..

Yeah but they always seem to be taking more than they are giving recently which is exactly how they want it.

Ooow now i wasnt expecting that

Tax avoidance and evasion to be eradicated.

Stamp duty rules to change from today.

Tax relief rules being tightened, but not affecting pensions relief.

Income tax rates:-

Top rate to fall from 50% to 45% from April 2013 - but total tax changes mean rich will pay 5 times as much tax overall.

Change of how child benefit is being withdrawn. Phased withdrawal for earners of £50.000+ and no allowance for £60,000+.

Persnal allowance to be increased over the next few years to £10,000

from April 2013 it rises by over £1,000 to £9,205.

Well apparently some fuel companies have reportedly put their prices up by 5 pence recently. So it might be effectively only 1 pence for some.

As can be expected, the opposition's reply to the budget is to ridicule it.

Same old, same old....

Hmm....have I misheard something (entirely likely) they seem to be saying fuel duty HASN'T been cut. In fact it's reported that he said the proposed RISE of 3.02 pence per litre would go ahead in August.

So what was the 6 pence I heard them talking about?

I've copied over the part of the Chancellor's speech about this:

"I turn now to fuel and vehicle excise duties.

High oil prices have put real pressure on household budgets and on businesses.

That is why we took action in last year’s Budget to cut fuel duty so it is 6p lower than our predecessors planned. We have also scrapped the last Government’s fuel duty escalator of annual above inflation rises, regardless of the oil price – and are today confirming the fair fuel stabiliser.

Above inflation rises will only return if the oil price falls below £45 on a sustained basis – currently equivalent to around $75 dollars.

These measures mean that this Government has eased the burden on motorists by £4.5 billion at a time when money is very short.

I do not propose to make any further changes to the fuel duty plans already set out.

I am increasing Vehicle Excise Duty by inflation only."

So he said that because of last year's budget, it's 6p less than it would have been.

That sounds very like Mr Blizz's 'logical' arguments, when trying to convince me that it was a good idea to allow him to go out unsupervised, with his wallet. 

Thanks El Loro, at least that clarifies that I didn't just imagine him saying something about 6 pence.

So, what they're really saying is that they won't reduce it because it's presently 6 pence less THAN THEY THINK IT WOULD HAVE BEEN IF LABOUR WAS STILL IN POWER, but we have no real proof of that - real sound logic there.

hah! We're not cutting it cause it could have been worse, y'know! 

....BUT....we're still going to put back half of this theoretical reduction come August.

i thought  it wasn't a bad budget  really, considering the times.

i know that's an unfashionable stance, but there you have it.

Hi Jackson, the impression I'm getting is that lots of people/bodies are jumping in and cherry-picking areas to moan about and not giving creedance or full thought to the bigger picture as a whole.

It remains to be seen, of course, if all the various measures will work as effectively as the government want/hope, but the fact is that if everything DOES go as planned then it could work out reasonably well.

7% stamp duty!!!!!!!!! 

SEVEN!  

These barstewards are forgetting who voted them in 

This is now off the market.  Thanks George ya poxy wee shit  :vicky:

Hurrah!

"A budget for business and hard working families"

I thought all budgets were touted as a "Budget for business and hard working families"

In this case it can be translated as a "Budget for plutocrats and to reward tax avoidance"

Well they're not going to applaud it, are they?  And neither should they applaud class warfare.

What happened to us all being in this together? What a nasty lie that was!

Everyone with any sense saw that the Tories would clobber the poorest hardest and anything they took off the richest initially would be handed back with interest at a later date.

The bankers got this country into this mess yet it's the poorest who are being punished to pay for the so-called wealth creators' screw up that bankrupted this country.  We didn't borrow ourselves into this mess, the bankers' greed put us in this mess.  The Tories will never admit it because it doesn't suit their class war objectives.

What the Tories have shown is that if you're rich and you avoid tax, you'll be rewarded with tax cuts, but if you're poor and you avoid tax, you'll be thrown in prison or fined.  Morally bankrupt

It was a wee tickle to the wealthy though.

Who are they kidding?

too be perfectly blunt.... I though it was sh*te..I still love you though 

Tax breaks for the rich, £300 off pensions...brilliant Gideon, you rich twat !!!! Anyone on 150 grand a year I congratulate you... alas, I don't know anyone on those kinda wages 

I hate the barstewards...the end!

All I got out of it to be honest is I''ve still got my 250,000 acres of arable.

can I get planning for a lodge  

And the pensioner.

budgets are always shite tho.

 and i don't really care if  a few  of the wealthy are going to pay less tax, i do care that 20 million people have been relieved from having to pay tax at all.

i agree on the rich twats being bastards, but some has to be...and they do it so well.

awww Velvet, I'm trying to be light-hearted...but  pensioners and the NHS is a no no for me...... I'm so angry at the injustice 

Capital gains?

Any ideas

The elderly really get run over gunshod Dame 

Jackson, this is not going make one iota of difference to the lowest paid...fact 

it's crap Velvet...I'm trying not to get banned, with a flow of foul language    

ddin't he announce that the basic state pension  will be going up from £102.00 to £107 and then  to £140?

i know the over 65's and the over 70's will lose and add-on to the  personal tax allowance they currnetly get, but if the tax thresh hold is going up to  10k, and probably indexed after that, they aren't going to loose out to a huge extent are they?

cos that bit is a bit confusing.

people that earn less than 10k?, i do think if thats the case then they'll be driven onto benefits,  so not a good outcome.  

but it will make a big difference to say pensioners on  moderate pensions of  say £130 - £140  aweek.

Yeah Jackson but the the pensioners who've worked all their lives, have saved and bought always get SFA.

They'd have been better living off the dole all their lives and renting a council house.

Merit's not rewarded.