The Budget..... more tax on beer and spirits and potholes should be made deeper.

[Squid]

Let the fun commence,

(any pornographic/sexist/racist links are fully accidental)

 

[Octopus]

From the B (biased) B (broadcasting) C (company)

The state of the economy

• Era of austerity is "finally coming to an end"
• 2018 growth forecast upgraded from 1.3% to 1.6%
• Growth forecast of 1.4%, 1.4%, 1.5% and 1.6% in four subsequent years
• 3.3 million more people in work since 2010
• Wages growth at its highest in nearly a decade

The state of the public finances

• Public borrowing in 2018 to be £11.6bn lower than forecast in March, representing 1.2% of gross domestic product, (GDP) the total value of goods produced and services provided
• Borrowing forecast to fall in subsequent years to £31.8bn, £26.7bn. £23.8bn, £20.8bn and £19.8bn
• Debt as share of GDP to fall from 85.2% in 2016-17 to 83.7% this year and to 74.1% by 2023-24

Brexit

• Extra £500m for preparations for leaving the EU
• Spring Statement next March could be upgraded to full Budget if needed
• A commemorative 50p coin to mark the UK's departure from the EU (announced on 29 October)

Alcohol, tobacco and fuel

• Beer, cider and spirits duties to be frozen
• Wine duty to rise in line with inflation
• Tobacco duty will continue to rise by inflation plus 2%
• Fuel duty to be frozen for ninth year in a row (announced on 3 October)

Personal taxation and wages
Stamp duty and housing

• All shared equity purchases of up to £500,000 to be exempt from stamp duty
• £500m for the Housing Infrastructure Fund, designed to enable a further 650,000 homes to be built
• Lettings relief limited to properties where the owner is in shared occupancy with the tenant

Welfare and pensions
Defence and security

• An extra £160m for counter-terrorism police
• An extra £1bn for armed forces, for cyber-capabilities and the UK's new nuclear submarine programme
• £10m for mental health care for veterans, to mark the centenary of World War One Armistice
• £1.7m in education programmes to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, in northern Germany

Business and digital

• New digital services tax on UK revenues of big technology companies, from April 2020
• Profitable companies with global sales of more than £500m will be eligible
• Private finance initiative (PFI) contracts to be abolished in future
• New centre of excellence to manage existing deals "in the taxpayer's interest"
• Annual investment allowance to be increased from £200,000 to £1m for two years
• Contribution of small companies to apprenticeship levy to be reduced from 10% to 5%
• Business rates bill for companies with a rateable value of £51,000 or less to be cut by third over two years
• Measure to benefit 90% of independent companies, cutting bill by £8,000
• £900m in business rates relief for small businesses and £650m to rejuvenate High Streets
• New mandatory business rates relief for all lavatories made available for public use, whether publicly or privately owned
• Extending changes to the way self-employment status is taxed, from the public sector to medium and large private companies, from 2020

Education and health (England only)

• Confirmation of an extra £20.5bn for the NHS over the next five years
• A minimum extra £2bn a year for mental health services
• New mental health crisis centre, providing support in every accident and emergency unit in the country
• An extra £700m for councils, for care for the elderly and those with disabilities
• £10m for air ambulances
• A one-off £400m "bonus" to help schools buy "the little extras they need"

Transport, infrastructure and culture

• A £30bn package for England's roads, including repairs to motorways and potholes (announced on 27 October)
• A 30% growth in infrastructure spending
• Opening the use of e-passport gates at airports - currently available to people from Europe - to those from the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Japan

Environment and energy

• A new tax on non-recycled plastic packaging
• No tax on takeaway coffee cups but this will be reconsidered if the industry doesn't make enough progress
• £60m for planting trees in England
• £10m to deal with abandoned waste sites

Nations and regions



Personally I think the end to PFI contracts is a good thing

 

[MDJ]

It will benefit most sparks, 12,500 before paying tax and the 40% threshold at 50K, otherwise nothing to get excited about

 

[Octopus]

It will benefit most sparks, 12,500 before paying tax and the 40% threshold at 50K, otherwise nothing to get excited about

The devil is in the detail .......... best buy a broadsheet at the weekend.

 

[Squid]

I need mental health treatment as if I see another article in the press regarding Meghan then I am running amok in Screwfix with a modded Hilti nail gun............

 

[Squid]

What about NI contributions going up?

 

[MDJ]

The devil is in the detail .......... best buy a broadsheet at the weekend.

I have plenty of Bog roll roll, no need to buy anymore at the moment.

 

[Squid]

I have plenty of Bog roll roll, no need to buy anymore at the moment.

You have sharp nails though........... Broadsheet just like IZAL.

 

[MDJ]

You have sharp nails though........... Broadsheet just like IZAL.

I like chips wrapped in paper, better than those plastic boxes

 

[Squid]

I like chips wrapped in paper, better than those plastic boxes

They are polystyrene, double wrap always so the Sarsons doesn't drip out of the bottom.......

 

[MDJ]

They are polystyrene, double wrap always so the Sarsons doesn't drip out of the bottom.......

yeah but it makes the chips sweat lol

 

[Squid]

yeah but it makes the chips sweat lol

Some chips in certain establishments are too dry so making them "sweat" makes them taste better a little "soft" is good.

But don't tell the wife.......

 

[JOURNEYMAN]

You have sharp nails though........... Broadsheet just like IZAL.

Ahhhh, Izal......those were the days.....hideous tracing paper used as butt wipe at school....you stopped wiping when it stopped sliding!

 

[rapparee]

It will benefit most sparks, 12,500 before paying tax and the 40% threshold at 50K, otherwise nothing to get excited about

Is this a definite

It is a big one if true

 

[Octopus]

Is this a definite

It is a big one if true

Its true

Are you in Eire or Northern Ireland?

 

[rapparee]

Its true

Are you in Eire or Northern Ireland?

Northern Ireland.

We also got £1billion in regional investment.

 

[plugsandsparks]

wine is going up :-( might have to switch to beer to keep the extra allowances on tax.
Great news about the sales tax on ebay, amazon, paypal, facebook, and the like

 

[Squid]

wine is going up :-( might have to switch to beer to keep the extra allowances on tax.
Great news about the sales tax on ebay, amazon, paypal, facebook, and the like

6p per bottle so that will cost you an extra 24p per day, any increase in taxation on online companies will be passed on to the public eventually so we'll all pay more.........

 

[plugsandsparks]

yep but its right, business rates is not working , online companies avoid CT like the plague, they can easily afford it without passing it on

 

[Midwest]

Let the fun commence,

(any pornographic/sexist/racist links are fully accidental)

I'll give you a week, two at best.