I’m going to drink cider until the whole crisis is over.

“VAT up to 20% from January 2010″?

Is it being back-dated?

Council tax will be frozen for one year from April.

That’s not what Osborne said and it is only applicable to England.

Also:
- Benefit rates to be linked to CPI from RPI. Effectively a cut in rates of 2%
- An increase of £150 to Child Element of Child Tax Credit – no detail as to start date, anyone know?
- Medical assessments to be introduced for existing and new claimants to DLA claimants from 2013.
-Housing Benefit – cap on payments and a plans to reform HB, without any comment on rates of rents set by landlords or anything on lack of social housing.

And it was called the Health *in* Pregnancy grant, which was worth £190 per pregnancy. The Sure Start Maternity Grant was worth £500 per child for every child.

And a pay freeze for two years on all public sector workers earling over £21,000

Will Charlie Kennedy lead a reverse SDP movement over this? I voted Lib Dem, and I wish a few more people had so we had a Labour/Lib Dem coalition, but it didn’t happen.

I hope this splits the left of the Lib Dems away and over to the Labour party. The authoritarian, pro-war, pro-city, anti-foreigner Labour Party, I hope it makes a difference in time for the leadership contest. Diane Abbott is the only hope for the liberal left now.

Pay freeze for 2 years in public sector I think is fair enough if applied to everyone including senior management and MPs. Better than pay cuts or some cuts and some rises.

“Corporation Tax will be cut by 1% each year for the next four years.”

Hmmm Worstall is always telling us that actually corporation tax is paid by workers in the form of lower wages, so it will be interesting to see whether reducing it means a pay rise for workers in the private sector.

“High earners will pay 28% Corporation Gains Tax from midnight.”

No idea what this means – can somebody explain?

“Council tax will be frozen for one year from April”

in England only, but more generally this is a tax that needs abolishing and replacing – so shame about the failure to do so here.

“VAT up to 20% from January 2011″

The stupidiest of the lot. It is as if he’s thought “the problem with the economy at the moment is that people are consuming too much”.

Seeing as things like the Health and pregnancy grant costs relatively little a whole load of cuts are completely ideological – its about the fact they dont believe it is the state’s duty to take care of societies young…

Any economics whizzkids out there want to explain this:

“From 2011 – except for the state pension and pension credit – benefits, tax credits and public service pensions will rise in line with the Consumer Price Index, rather than the, generally higher, Retail Price Index, saving over £6 billion a year by the end of the Parliament.”

? (taken from the BBC summary)

Mr S. Pill They are assuming that CPI will rise at a lower rate than RPI – which means that benefits will not go up as high – not quite as cruel as a benefits freeze but basically, taking money from the poorest people in society to help the wealthiest. also makes getting an extremely low paid job even more attractive as they have less money out of work – nice!

@9

Hm, yeah I kinda got that much – just wondering really the difference between the CPI and the RPI..? Other than the magic “£6billion”…
And was there any word on the minimum wage?

“Seeing as things like the Health and pregnancy grant costs relatively little a whole load of cuts are completely ideological – its about the fact they dont believe it is the state’s duty to take care of societies young…”

Well, a lot of little cuts still add up (especially as you lose the cost of administering them), and since the last government specialised in losts of little costs and tinkerings which produced complications, I think this might be sensible.

And of course its ideological – you chose what to cut based on a number of factors, but how you balance those is ideological. Your criticism is equally ideological; does that make it wrong on its own?

@10 this figure could also come from the fact htat long-term JSA claimants will have their Housing Benefit cut from April 2013 to 90% of the full award. A very sneaky way to cut people’s benefits… (hidden in the budget report)

11 but the government are making all of these cuts on the basis of economic necessity, they have not admitted any of this is ideological.

11 furthermore, these payments were fairly straightforward to administer – you do not justify why they should actually be cut – the gains from giving children the best start in life healthwise has been evidenced in numerous studies.

Does anyone know when the surestart maternity grant is going to end, and the first child only thing I need clarification on.

I am pregnant and have 9 weeks to go and I believe I am entitiled to it at present because I am entitled to maternity allowance. I have a child so this will be my second, I didn’t claim a sure start maternity grant for my first though. So would I be entitled to it?

With Regards to VAT how come it isn’t going up for cigarettes and alcohol? surely theya re a luxury item.

Does anyone know when the surestart maternity grant is going to end, and the first child only thing I need clarification on.

I am pregnant and have 9 weeks to go and I believe I am entitiled to it at present because I am entitled to maternity allowance. I have a child so this will be my second, I didn’t claim a sure start maternity grant for my first though. So would I be entitled to it?

With Regards to VAT how come it isn’t going up for cigarettes and alcohol? surely theya re a luxury item.?

And another thing

Why are medical exams being brought in for people who are on disabilty in 2013, thats three years away, why isn’t it starting sooner, this is a massive problem in this country, people who are able to work are allowed to sit on benefits because of alleged disbilities, I know this isn’t always the case but it is very often, at least where I live, 3 men in my street are on disability because of bad backs and yet work cash in hand as window cleaners. it’s disgusting.

This is a good blog piece from TUC explaining the difference between CPI and RPI
http://www.touchstoneblog.org.uk/2010/06/rip-rpi-budget-changes-to-benefit-uprating/

where I live, 3 men in my street are on disability because of bad backs and yet work cash in hand as window cleaners

does anybody know of any credible research that estimates what proportion of disability claimants are claiming fraudulently? this is one of the most contentious issues out there – we’re sorely in need of some data.

19 That would be good – although right wing press etc would still portray these people as scroungers as it sells papers. I wonder how you could estimate this though

“I believe I am entitiled to it at present because I am entitled to maternity allowance. I have a child so this will be my second, I didn’t claim a sure start maternity grant for my first though. So would I be entitled to it?”

You are only entitled to the grant if you live in a low income household.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/moneytaxandbenefits/benefitstaxcreditsandothersupport/expectingorbringingupchildren/dg_10018854

Anyone who has done 26 weeks of work over the last 66 weeks and isn’t receiving maternity pay from a workplace (because they’re self employed, a temp etc.) is entitled to Maternity Allowance.

Oh and since Maternity Allowance is essentially a benefit perhaps you should look a little more kindly on people who live on them all the time. After all some people think getting paid money by taxpayers for having a baby is wrong- a few guys supplementing £71.40 (if they get paid the full amount) is hardly the worst fraud in the world.

@19/20

No firm stats to hand but this post mentions that benefit fraud costs the taxman £1.1billion whereas tax avoidence costs at the lowest £25 billion and at the highest £80 billion.
It does get frustrating reading about so-called “scoungers” every other day when there is little-to-no mention of the richest corporations making money in the UK but paying no tax, basically robbing us blind.

Nobody seems to care about the freezing of council tax. What has this got to do with the reduction of the supposed structural deficit of national government? In my opinion it’s more democratic to allow local government to set its own tax levels. It might even get more public engagement.

Mr S. Pill @23, you make a good point but it seems unwise to rely on Richard Murphy.

This Budget is ridiculous! We should get back to the ‘Robin hood days’ and take from the rich to feed the poor. Why should my husband and I who are on low income less than 30k with 2 young children and another on the way have to be punished for the government’s mistakes… and damn stupid ones at that. Such as givin money to the banks, just so they can give out a bonus to someone who clearly doesnt need it. Why dont they stop tax credits for high earners altogether??? Why am I paying so much tax for a teenage girl to get pregnant and live off benefits??? When my baby’s born we wont be entitled to newborn tax credits… but someone who can’t be bothered to work is fully supported? Why does a rich man in a big house get to decide what i’m entitled to???