Budget 2014: Excited or bored?

Budget 2014: Excited or bored?

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While I wasn't overwhelmed by enthusiasm in my previous query about how seriously members take the Budget, we still put a lot of effort into our coverage because a lot of people read it.

To inject a bit of extra excitement, we're also running our usual sweepstake in which you could win £250 in Amazon vouchers by predicting how many times the Chancellor says the word "tax" in his speech.

The tone of coverage in the nationals - and from our regular columnist Philip Fisher - is that this will be a boring Budget. Rebecca Benneyworth concurred when she told me earlier that she wasn't expecting to see the Chancellor pull many rabbits from his hat. Nevertheless, she too will be busy on Wednesday, getting stuck into the paperwork for her Budget report (register here for your free copy, available from Monday) and taking part in our live Budget blog.

But as I said in that article, the devil is always in the detail. Our Budget discussion group has tackled a number of potiential measures, including

My original query also still applies - what are the issues that concern you most? And would anyone like to join us in sifting through the documentation to highlight points and proposals that will be of interest to other AccountingWEB members? Let us know by posting below and once we get to work on the Budget documents and TIINs, we'll get in touch with any volunteers (or borrow your comments and analysis here for the articles we prepare about the different measures).

Whether it's bumpy or not, strap yourselves in and join us for the ride!

Replies (4)

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Glenn Martin
By Glenn Martin
19th Mar 2014 00:12

too busy to worry

to be honest at the minute. Most of the tax rates etc have already been agreed, and there will be very little in it for me personally unless they reduce the duty on industrial strength lager to nil.

Thanks (3)
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By nicstone
19th Mar 2014 09:21

it's a repeat

Tthese days so many matters are announced before the Budget - like the new childcare - that what he does say regarding tax is usually a repeat.  This, coupled with the fact that the detail won't be available until next Thurday, make it less interesting than it used to be.  It also makes it difficult to advise clients who want answers this afternoon and don't understand that the detail isn't available until all the legislation is published.  What he says doesn't always reflect what the legislation says.  Why he has created this information vacuum escapes me.

Thanks (1)
Time for change
By Time for change
19th Mar 2014 10:22

As always, the Budget statement has either been leaked,

or announced, well in advance of today's speech and, it all becomes a political football, for Balls and Osborne.

You would imagine, from comments in recent days, that Osborne might increase the personal allowance, to £10,500, whereas the reality is, this will form part of next years Budget!

A day of stealth and political gestures, nothing more, nothing less.

And, not one mention of tax simplification, which might just make people interested. Indeed has anyone heard anything recently from the (latest) review team? Wasn't Ken Clarke trying to set up a similar initiative, in 1996?

 

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RLI
By lionofludesch
19th Mar 2014 10:27

Next year

Most of the announcements today will take effect next year.  So plenty olf time to digest them.

Gosh - how did we cope with codings changing in week 7/month 2 without computers, eh ?  We must have been smart back then.

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