grrclark Posted March 18, 2015 Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 I think that today's budget was not too bad, some very positive announcements that should benefit businesses, especially SME's. The "ISA to Own" initiative for first time buyers was welcome, as were the relaxation of rules around ISA flexibility and the further unlocking of pension rules on annuities. The increases in personal tax allowance was expected, but still welcome. I don't think there were any gimmicky give aways in this budget, more a gentle relaxation of what was trailed in the autumn statement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keg Posted March 18, 2015 Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 Only seen a brief top line but seems sensible, lifting the tax rate to 11k was a nice touch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
955i Posted March 18, 2015 Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 So, not browsed all of it so far but a couple of things jumped out at me from a first glance. 1) SAYS - George Osborne will use his Budget to announce the end of the annual tax return within the next five years. HM Revenue and Customs will automatically collate the tax affairs of millions of Britons from employers, banks and investment firms into a single “digital” tax account which can be checked at any time online. REPLY - We have told you we don't want the government to have access to our personal information, here is how you are going to do it anyway!! 2) SAYS - A £40 million fund to repair church and cathedral roofs REPLY - Excuse me Mr Osbourne, I am not religious and do not wish to have my hard earned taxes spent on somebody else's belief. If their church needs a new roof they can pay for it themselves!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keg Posted March 18, 2015 Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 I also find it amusing that Red Ed bleats about the Tories not fixing things in 5 years. It did take New Communism a lot longer to screw it up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malkiserow Posted March 18, 2015 Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 What was very disappointing was not the budget but the retort from Milliband straight afterwards .... it was lame, shallow, unintelligent and not worthy of a party leader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted March 18, 2015 Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 All good news then. What was very disappointing was not the budget but the retort from Milliband straight afterwards .... it was lame, shallow, unintelligent and not worthy of a party leader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartynGT4 Posted March 18, 2015 Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 Absolutely, abolishing the tax return has nothing to do with making taxation easier for us, instead it's got everything to do with dealing with tax avoidance! Our banks will be dutifully telling the tax man about every credit we receive and no doubt each will be treated as taxable income unless we can prove otherwise.. not good, not good at all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malkiserow Posted March 18, 2015 Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 All good news then. Nothing mind blowing but warmly OK. I wish there was a bit more info on their intent for inheritance tax. I'll not be practicing any of my newly acquired Strictly moves just yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krugerandsmith Posted March 18, 2015 Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 I think that today's budget was not too bad, some very positive announcements that should benefit businesses, especially SME's. The "ISA to Own" initiative for first time buyers was welcome, as were the relaxation of rules around ISA flexibility and the further unlocking of pension rules on annuities. The increases in personal tax allowance was expected, but still welcome. I don't think there were any gimmicky give aways in this budget, more a gentle relaxation of what was trailed in the autumn statement.One penny One penny off a pint ..... I think I will get drunk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
955i Posted March 18, 2015 Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 LOL, I spent so long posting a thread on the budget that you beat me to it Lifting the tax rate seems nice but its all smoke and mirrors. All that will happen is costs will go up so it will not make any difference. Remember, these are politicians. They are not doing anything that is intended to help the people, there will be an agenda behind it somewhere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grrclark Posted March 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 There is no shortage of irony and hypocrisy from any parties sadly. I have just been listening to Ed Balls and it is comical, he is criticising the tories for what he describes as extreme measures to reduce the deficit and debt as outlined, but then goes on to say that he has a plan that he will do exactly the same thing and do it faster if he can!!! Of course he doesn't outline what that plan involves other than a mansion tax, reinstating the 50% rate of tax and cutting winter fuel allowance to wealthy pensioners. The gist of his argument seems to be that the tories didn't eliminate the deficit in the first 5 years, which would have meant a 3 fold increase in cuts, but then goes on to criticise them about the cuts they make. The he criticises them about the continued cuts they want to make (to eliminate the deficit) and says that is bad, then goes on to say that they would also eliminate the deficit but through a sustainable reduction in spending (aka cuts). He also said that they will reduce the overall debt, but will borrow a further £180bn to pay for capital projects. Apparently that £180bn doesn't count as debt. One penny off a pint ..... I think I will get drunk. Have some cider and whisky as well then. LOL, I spent so long posting a thread on the budget that you beat me to it Lifting the tax rate seems nice but its all smoke and mirrors. All that will happen is costs will go up so it will not make any difference. Remember, these are politicians. They are not doing anything that is intended to help the people, there will be an agenda behind it somewhere What costs do you mean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
955i Posted March 18, 2015 Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 (edited) Absolutely, abolishing the tax return has nothing to do with making taxation easier for us, instead it's got everything to do with dealing with tax avoidance! Our banks will be dutifully telling the tax man about every credit we receive and no doubt each will be treated as taxable income unless we can prove otherwise.. not good, not good at all! While dutifully not telling them about their shady deals, handshakes and snidey backhanders from the likes of Amazon, Asda, Starbucks, HSBC, etc, etc, etc Edited March 18, 2015 by 955i Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
955i Posted March 18, 2015 Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 (edited) What costs do you mean? Food, fuel, utilities, council tax. It all adds up and in the end cancels out any gain made. It won't mean people are better off, it just means they can still afford to be poor!! Not that I have no faith or trust in the government or anything Edited March 18, 2015 by 955i Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted March 18, 2015 Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 My comment was about Milliband's comments being up to his usual standards as being good news, long may it continue. I'll not be practicing any of my newly acquired Strictly moves just yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grrclark Posted March 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 Food, fuel, utilities, council tax. It all adds up and in the end cancels out any gain made. It won't mean people are better off, it just means they can still afford to be poor!! Not that I have no faith or trust in the government or anything OK, but none of those costs are controlled by central government, influenced perhaps, but not controlled. Inflation is also very low so that contradicts your theory a little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davyo Posted March 18, 2015 Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 So, not browsed all of it so far but a couple of things jumped out at me from a first glance. 1) SAYS - George Osborne will use his Budget to announce the end of the annual tax return within the next five years. HM Revenue and Customs will automatically collate the tax affairs of millions of Britons from employers, banks and investment firms into a single “digital” tax account which can be checked at any time online. REPLY - We have told you we don't want the government to have access to our personal information, here is how you are going to do it anyway!! 2) SAYS - A £40 million fund to repair church and cathedral roofs REPLY - Excuse me Mr Osbourne, I am not religious and do not wish to have my hard earned taxes spent on somebody else's belief. If their church needs a new roof they can pay for it themselves!! What Mr Osbourne said about no further annual returns is very true,I am surprised the general public are not already aware. I attended a meeting in July 2014 held by senior HMRC executives and we where advised that every UK tax payer will have their own Online Personal Tax Account.HMRC will go totally digital,they currently have 17 call centre throught the UK,these will be condensed into 5 super sites ( obviously thousands of HMRC staff will be axed).They have already got plans in place for DWP to take over Child Benifit & Child Tax Credit /Working Tax Credit will be run under the new Universal Credit also under the wings of the DWP.Very worring times ahead,by then I will be fully retired or made redundant in 2016 thank god.Also it has not been totally ruled out that some 'sensitive processing work will be carried out overseas' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
955i Posted March 18, 2015 Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 What Mr Osbourne said about no further annual returns is very true,I am surprised the general public are not already aware. I attended a meeting in July 2014 held by senior HMRC executives and we where advised that every UK tax payer will have their own Online Personal Tax Account.HMRC will go totally digital,they currently have 17 call centre throught the UK,these will be condensed into 5 super sites ( obviously thousands of HMRC staff will be axed).They have already got plans in place for DWP to take over Child Benifit & Child Tax Credit /Working Tax Credit will be run under the new Universal Credit also under the wings of the DWP. Very worring times ahead,by then I will be fully retired or made redundant in 2016 thank god.Also it has not been totally ruled out that some 'sensitive processing work will be carried out overseas' We are going to get shafted big time by the corrupt behemoth that is the government in the not too distant future. Unfortunately many have their heads buried in the sand and are happy the Prince of Darkness has thrown them a bone to gnaw on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grrclark Posted March 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 What Mr Osbourne said about no further annual returns is very true,I am surprised the general public are not already aware. I attended a meeting in July 2014 held by senior HMRC executives and we where advised that every UK tax payer will have their own Online Personal Tax Account.HMRC will go totally digital,they currently have 17 call centre throught the UK,these will be condensed into 5 super sites ( obviously thousands of HMRC staff will be axed).They have already got plans in place for DWP to take over Child Benifit & Child Tax Credit /Working Tax Credit will be run under the new Universal Credit also under the wings of the DWP. Very worring times ahead,by then I will be fully retired or made redundant in 2016 thank god.Also it has not been totally ruled out that some 'sensitive processing work will be carried out overseas' Why worrying? Our tax collection mechanism is hideously expensive and ridiculously inefficient. Any moves to remove the layers of non value adding bureaucracy has to be a good thing. All of government is moving towards digital solutions and I welcome that. We currently employ far too many mediocre people who are in administrative jobs within the state machine that contribute nothing. Natural attrition through retirement and resignation will account for a substantial reduction in numbers. For any individuals who may face redundancy I have huge sympathy, it is a painful process, but at a wider level we cannot continue to fund bloat and inefficiency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
955i Posted March 18, 2015 Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 Why worrying? Our tax collection mechanism is hideously expensive and ridiculously inefficient. Any moves to remove the layers of non value adding bureaucracy has to be a good thing. All of government is moving towards digital solutions and I welcome that. We currently employ far too many mediocre people who are in administrative jobs within the state machine that contribute nothing. Natural attrition through retirement and resignation will account for a substantial reduction in numbers. For any individuals who may face redundancy I have huge sympathy, it is a painful process, but at a wider level we cannot continue to fund bloat and inefficiency. So more people out of jobs when the money saved still won't pass on any benefit to us, the taxpayers, is your preferred method of moving forward then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted March 18, 2015 Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 I also find it amusing that Red Ed bleats about the Tories not fixing things in 5 years. It did take New Communism a lot longer to screw it up! red edds lot could not any thing in 20 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicW Posted March 18, 2015 Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 Only seen a brief top line but seems sensible, lifting the tax rate to 11k was a nice touch. The personal tax allowance goes up to £10,600 for 2015/16, £10,800 for 2016/17 and £11,000 not until 2017/18 so not so wonderful after all but better than nothing. The next government can change it of course ! Vic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davyo Posted March 18, 2015 Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 We are going to get shafted big time by the corrupt behemoth that is the government in the not too distant future. Unfortunately many have their heads buried in the sand and are happy the Prince of Darkness has thrown them a bone to gnaw on Mate it's in utter chaos at the moment,I took part retirement 2 yrs ago with the aim of getting out in Oct 2017 fully retired,but I doubt I will see it past April 2016. It is shocking what I have witnessed over the last 3 yrs alone,senior executives making decisions that have thrown HMRC into panic mode and left us seriously understaffed as a result of cost cutting and not one executive head has rolled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougall Posted March 18, 2015 Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 watching Ed Balls ........left last time by saying there is no money left clearly wants to do it again..a total bafoon if we let him anywhere near the economy again I'm emigrating Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grrclark Posted March 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 So more people out of jobs when the money saved still won't pass on any benefit to us, the taxpayers, is your preferred method of moving forward then This comment puzzles me. The taxpayer will benefit as a reduction in central government costs means either less borrowing (deficit) or spend can be redirected elsewhere. I don't support bloat and inefficiency, that is why under the last lot we acquired a massive deficit and astronomical debt. I am a believer that the state machine should be as small as it can be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davyo Posted March 18, 2015 Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 Why worrying? Our tax collection mechanism is hideously expensive and ridiculously inefficient. Any moves to remove the layers of non value adding bureaucracy has to be a good thing. All of government is moving towards digital solutions and I welcome that. We currently employ far too many mediocre people who are in administrative jobs within the state machine that contribute nothing. Natural attrition through retirement and resignation will account for a substantial reduction in numbers. For any individuals who may face redundancy I have huge sympathy, it is a painful process, but at a wider level we cannot continue to fund bloat and inefficiency. What would you say to all your personal information and tax history being outsourced to India? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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