The Government have learned a lesson this year, the lesson is that if you leak all the good stuff before the budget is announced officially, the media will concentrate on all the stuff you don't want highlighted...
The Good Stuff includes an increase in the amount we can all earn before tax, a staged reduction in corporation tax, removing child benefits from higher earners (not everyone will regard this as 'good stuff'...) and new taxes for gambling and gaming machines.
The biggest 'shock reaction' was to news that pensioners are not going to continue to enjoy their previous tax breaks. In actual fact, pensioners are merely being brought in line with everyone else when it comes to tax - although it has been called a 'granny tax' and presented as pensioners losing money, it has been done in such as way that the pensioners will not enjoy increased tax allowances until they are in line with working incomes.
The other big talking point has been the removing of the top-tier 50p tax rate - said to be intended to actually increase tax revenue - time will tell whether this is true, but whatever else it is, it is certainly a bold step. All-in-all, this looks t me like a budget that gives a lot to low earners, a little to middle-earners and what looks like a boost to top earners too. Of course, it will not please pensioners, but it also manages to boost small businesses too with the reduction in corporation tax.
Time will tell whether this is a 'good' budget, but I think I am willing to concede that it is not a bad one...
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