Budget 2008
Overview by Bob Wheatcroft, Tax Partner
A Cardboard Budget?
Alistair Darling maintained his image by producing his first rather uneventful Budget.
With an eye on the Green lobby, he promised that next year we could expect the first Carbon Budget but this year it was more of a cardboard event.
That is not to say that there will be no changes. It is just that the majority of them had already been announced.
We already knew of the changes to capital gains tax, to income tax rates, corporation tax and capital allowances – Gordon Brown announced those last year. Mr Darling himself announced changes to inheritance tax and the taxation of so-called non-doms in October last year.
This time there were relatively small gestures to climate change (notably with plastic bags!) and charities but the headlines are really the increases in alcohol and tobacco duties. There was a notable absence of gimmicks.
He set the economic tone as being steady in turbulent times. In truth he probably did not have the scope for major tax cuts because of a weak fiscal position and big increases would certainly tip us into recession. If his optimistic tone is justified then he will get a chance to show what sort of a Chancellor he really is. If not…
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