Thursday, March 23, 2006
Budget comments
Comments on Brown's Budget
Here is a selection of Budget commentaries after the Chancellor presented his tenth (and possibly last) Budget yesterday.
He held out the prospect of tax cuts on several occasions only to snatch them back, insisting that it would be much better for him to spend our money than us.
However, the true defining moment was early on in the speech. After galloping through the nations's net debt and borrowing requirements, he then took enormous pride in boasting that he had indeed considered introducing a third fiscal rule, suggested by the Tories.
This would limit public spending growth to a rate below that of national economic growth. But, he declared with some glee, he had rejected it. Such a fetter, he argued, would be a betrayal of his, and Labour's, first principles and undermine his "investment priorities".
What it actually means is that the state sector can continue expanding while the private sector is swamped in high taxes, red tape and lack of investment. - Read more
Mr Cameron said Mr Brown was stuck in the past. He was an "old-fashioned tax and spend chancellor" who had given Britain the "biggest tax burden in history" - up by a further 5.5 billion pounds over the next three years.
"Billions raised, billions spent," he said. "No idea where the money has gone. With a record like that the Chancellor should be running for treasurer of the Labour Party." - Read more
He claimed he was declaring war on gas-guzzling 4x4s.
But Gordon Brown's tinkering with the road taxes yesterday during his annual budget statement pleased no one and left both motoring groups and environmentalists fuming. - Read more
PRIME Minister-in-waiting Gordon Brown tried to seduce millions of Brits with a sexy Budget yesterday, pledging cut-price condoms and cheap champagne.
The frisky Chancellor's promises of passion earned him a new nickname . . . the Love Gord.
He also lavished billions on schools as he bought the keys to No10 with a big-spending Budget.
The Chancellor went on a giant spree as he laid the foundations for the decade-long Premiership he craves. - Read more
In his response to the Budget, Mr Cameron said that Mr Brown was an old fashioned tax-and-spend Chancellor who represented "the past." He was the "analogue chancellor in a digital age"; he was the "roadblock" to reform.
"What we've got is a chancellor who has taxed too much, borrowed too much and is the roadblock to reform. He is a politician completely stuck in the past," he said.
Sir Menzies Campbell, the Lib Dem leader, said that the Budget had been a missed opportunity. "He could have tackled the unfair tax system. He could have made the environment a priority. He could have faced up to the pensions crisis.
"He has declined to do any of these. This is a legacy from which it will be difficult for him to escape." - Read more
Meanwhile, I'm left wondering, just where does a 1.4 ltr Nissan Almera fall into the tax bands?
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