Budget 2010: No pain no gain
The financial press today is full of contradicting advice and opinions regarding the UK budget yesterday but the bottom line is that with UK finances flat lined there is no way we will see recovery in the UK without pain. In simple terms, no pain no gain for the UK economy and no pain no gain for UK taxpayers!
Those who believe that taxpayers will not see higher income tax in the short term, potentially higher VAT, higher council tax and a generally high cost of living are living in cloud cuckoo land. Despite the fact that Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling are continuing to invest in the public sector, with a further £30 billion going in this year, there is no way on earth that this can continue. The UK economy is fragile, UK debt is set to increase over the next four years and UK taxes will follow suit.
Whether you believe yesterday's budget was a budget designed for political purposes or to at least support the UK economy in the short to medium term is up to you, but there is no doubt there is significant pain to come for UK taxpayers and UK businesses in the short, medium and longer term.
Share this..
Related stories
Has George Osborne won over the doubters?
Today's news that the UK credit rating in worldwide markets is "stable" in the minds of Moody's, the renowned credit rating agency, is certainly a feather in the cap of George Osborne. This is a man who is known to be highly intelligent although many people doubted his ability to perform at the highest office. However, David Cameron has had the utmost confidence in George Osborne since day one des...
Read MorePublic sector borrowing less than expected
Public-sector borrowings for July were less than expected as the UK government benefited from an increase in corporation tax receipts. The net borrowing figure for July came in at £3.8 billion against a forecast of £5.25 billion and compares favourably to the £6.1 billion of net borrowings in the same month last year. So what does this mean for the UK government? While there is no doubt that...
Read MoreGeorge Osborne rejects EU bank insurance tax
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne is today set to fight EU plans to introduce a bank insurance tax which would be charged against all banks operating in Europe and used to set up a fund to cover EU bank failures in the future. There is concern from within the UK government that the creation of a bank insurance tax administered by the European Union could encourage excessive risk-taking in...
Read MoreLDV Vans is rebuked by the UK government
The UK government has this evening appeared to rule out a last-ditch £30 million loan for troubled van manufacture LDV Vans. The company had earlier today approached the authorities with regards to a potential loan of up to £30 million and while initially there had been hope that the government would step in to assist, these hopes appear to have been dashed this evening.
There is...
UK government loses European Court of Justice Case
The UK government could be forced to pay back as much as £20 billion after HSBC was victorious in a case brought against the UK government at the European Court of Justice. It relates to "UK stamp duty reserve tax" which was introduced back in 1986 to cover cross-border mergers and acquisitions. Rather than attempting collect 0.5% stamp duty from shares issued through a foreign clearinghouse, or...
Read More