Osborne and Balls were on the Andrew Marr Show this morning...
saying the usual stuff...one is right and one is wrong. Which one of course all depends NOT on your informed point of view but more on your political persuasion because as with so much of this stuff there are no real total experts. Knowledgeable guesswork is the way of economics..ermm, and so much else.
Osborne was for plugging the tax on foreigners coming here and buying houses in company names and thus avoiding stamp duty etc etc...but he avoided the big issues, which I suppose is fair enough as the budget is only a few days away. Plugging the foreign loophole has everyone's agrreement and is a populist move to take the eye off the other failings..but its fairly small and is being flagged up out of proportion which makes you wonder why.
It is rumoured that Clegg has secured from Osborne's Budget a minimum of £10,000 before people pay tax at all. If indeed he has secured such a deal it will be welcome by all I'm sure. It will give the poorer members of society a decent tax lift at last, give them a chance to get that bit further out of poverty and a chance maybe to spend a little more on High St UK, thereby helping with a revival. Of course this is all speculation, as we will have to wait and see in the Budget when its read out by gorgeous George.
The £10,000 point before you are liable to tax would also give the 'squeezed middle' a break which should go down well with the Libdem voter, the Libdem voter is a squeezed pip if ever there was one.
Howard refers to the 45% rate there...that will certainly give the rich a break, but I hope Osborne doesn't forget the other end of the scale. If he does it could be political dynamite.
