Pre-Budget Report: new man, familiar story
Posted 9 October 2007 at 7:13PM by Simon Dickson in Doing business online
It can't have been easy for Alastair Darling - giving his first statement in his new job, in front of the man who is both his boss and his predecessor, not to mention a live TV audience and a House of Commons baying for blood. The speech which might have launched a general election had instead become a defensive exercise - and the Chancellor must have known he was in for a rough ride.
There wasn't a huge amount of note from a small business perspective; but then again, Mr Darling clearly didn't want to hang around. The speech lasted just over the half hour, five minutes shorter than Gordon Brown's equivalent speech last year, even though it also covered both the government's Comprehensive Spending Review. The headline-catchers were the changes to inheritance tax; and a closing of tax loopholes, with a particular focus on private equity and 'non-domiciles'.
Would the opposition welcome the emerging cross-party consensus? Hardly: there were howls from across the chamber, and shadow chancellor George Osborne wasted no time accusing the government of showing 'not leadership (but) followership.' 'Where has all the money gone?' the Tories almost managed to chant in unison; clearly some practice needed before the Christmas panto season.
The Chancellor promised three tax simplification reviews, looking at VAT, Corporation Tax and 'how anti-avoidance legislation can best meet the aims of simplicity and revenue protection.' The simplification of business support is set to continue, with the aim of improving 'the quality, effectiveness and efficiency of schemes.' There should also be long-term gains for small businesses from greater investment in science, skills and transport infrastructure. But the business community doesn't like the sound of the new 18% flat rate of Capital Gains Tax, and the Treasury is promising to 'address' the practice of 'income shifting'.
With a couple of dozen documents emerging from the Treasury today, it's going to take the analysts and pundits a good few days to establish what it all means... and a few years for it all to kick in. Visit the Treasury website for full details, or keep an eye on blogs like that of BBC economics editor Evan Davis for a more digestible read.
Tags: alastair darling, pre-budget report, treasury
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