Gordon
Brown presented his ninth Budget on Wednesday
16 March 2005. At under an hour it certainly
fell well short of the longest continuous
Budget speech ever. That was delivered by
William Gladstone on 18 April 1853 and ran
to four hours and 45 minutes!
If the British public were
hoping for a Budget filled with pre-election
sweeteners then they were disappointed.
Gordon Brown used his speech to remind us
of his golden rule, to balance the current
budget over the economic cycle, and to set
out his long-term vision for the country.
Press speculation, which was
somewhat muted in the run up to the Budget,
had focused on stamp duty land tax breaks
for first time buyers and the Chancellor
did not disappoint.
As expected, a raft of anti-avoidance
measures were announced. This was the expected
outcome of last year’s new tax scheme
disclosure regime.
In addition the government
will continue to consider ways to reduce
administrative burdens on business following
the Hampton Review.
Our summary focuses on the
issues likely to affect you, your family
and your business. To help you decipher
what was said we have included comment and
suggested action points. If you have any
questions then please do not hesitate to
contact us for advice or to discuss any
action you may wish to take.
Main
Budget proposals
- Stamp duty land tax thresholds
raised
- Income tax and national
insurance rates unchanged
- Tax breaks on ISAs extended
until 2010
- Child Tax Credit increased
- No changes to rates of
corporation tax, capital gains tax, air
passenger duty, insurance premium tax
or climate change levy
- Extension of film tax reliefs
- Anti-avoidance measures
But nothing on
- Residence and domicile
- Corporation tax reform
Previous
announcements
Some of the changes detailed in this summary
have been the subject of earlier announcements.
Here is a reminder of some of the more important
ones:
- Introduction of the Child
Trust Fund
- The new rules on pre-owned
assets
- Taxation of company vans
- Employer-provided childcare
- Anti-avoidance relating
to employee remuneration
Next:
Personal Tax
