Budget

[bigbadwolf]

My dad is way ahead of you Lou.

[Mick Mac]

Chancellor growth predictions

2009 (-3.5%)

2010 +1.25%

2011 +3.5%

Maybe optimistic.

[Mick Mac]

new 50% top rate for > ?150k earners from 2010 and No benefit of personal allowance.

[jumpinjackflash]

David Cameron was on a roll with his response..really gave it to Darling and Brown!

[*Bob*]

We must have been watching a different speech.

All I saw was some smarmy little slimeball with nothing to say blustering his way through a typically unsubstantial and cheap point-scoring rebuff.

When the only person on your front bench who doesn't inspire a feeling a nausea is William Hague, all is not well.

[Jah Lush]

Fags up two-per-cent from midnight tonight. Fecking bar stewards!

[citizenED]

Sean Mac said,

"I don't have to listen to any of the gloomy forecasts anymore. or at least, I don't have to take them seriously. The "expert forecasting" is a busted flush. They don't really know.. so I don't have to listen to them."

Precisely. At the end of every piece of economic and financial advice you ever get is the tag line "values may go down as well as up". This should be in bold letters at the beginning of the advice. Whether the advice turns out to right or wrong the advisor already has your money. If it turns out to be wrong, you ain't getting it back. I'm not being overly cynical, it's just that economics is largely posited as some sort of science because figures and numbers are seen to be factual, whereas as this economic downturn has demonstrated finance, is more about confidence and emotion.

[HonaloochieB]

*Bob* Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> In all honesty, I don't understand any of it.

>

> But I'm hoping to get stopped in the street by

> London Tonight so I can get all indignant about 2p

> on wine.

And I'm hoping I'll be right behind *Bob* and will be able to butt in with

"Never mind your 2p on a bottle of wine, pal, wht about the 5p a pint on my facking lager".

[SeanMacGabhann]

You know those things *Bob* said about Cameron?.... I agree with them

I expect this 50% tax rate will have people up in arms (I was expecting 45% myself) but if you are earning 150k @ 40% and (say) another 50k at the higher 50% - is that a hardship really? I mean really? Instead of saying "well my brains aren't rewarded enough here, I'm off!" why not take a longer view and say "this country needs extra cash.... I've got plenty cash.... I see a way out of this!"

[Mick Mac]

All true Sean, but internationally mobile employees can decide where to ply their trade and now they won't be coming here. Another dent to London's finacial centre. It does not even bring in a lot of money, and some high earners will leave, so they won't even get as much as they hoped.

[citizenED]

Which is why I get so miffed with the news reports about the budget which casually talk about higher earners being "hit" hard, as though making a contribution to the nation through taxes is in some way a bad thing.

[MrBen]

Sean - around 0.5% of the UK population earn more than ?150K so my thoughts are that this is more gimick than substance - surely much greater revenue generators out there for HMRC.

But as a sacrificial lamb to appease public opinion of "The Rich" it works quite well from a PR point of view.

[SeanMacGabhann]

Yeah that's the theory I keep being told MM, but It shows a lack of moral fibre if you ask me

Plus, it may have been true in the past but this being a global issue there are far less places to go as each country has it's own revenue mess to sort out

Plus # 2, if these internationally mobile employees are the ones that got us into this mess I won't miss em

plus # 3, if London has to rely less on being a global financial centre, that's fine by me. Even tho it might mean me losing my job

plus #4, it at least starts to bridge the huge divide between lowest and highest paid - one of the most fundamental problems in any society. I understand it may bring in less money, but it's more "correct".

[snorky]

Lets be honest, this is budget-lite given the way we have caned it for the past decade, with no thought for the future

Those over 150K will likely have tax minimisation schemes onboard anyway

[Mick Mac]

Sean - currently we attract the best from abroad partly because of London being a financial centre and also due to some of the tax benefits for non uk nationals we have had in the past. These tax advantages are nearly all gone now. This can only weaken our position. My job is partly based on advising these people. They don't have to live here to provide services here and can easily base themselves elsewhere. Hopefully UK standard of living etc will be enough to keep them here - its this diversity that people like about London.

I don't think there is a moral issue as they are not from here originally so why feel any obligation to remain.

I'm not sure moves to reduce the gap between the well off and the less well of make for a stronger country. And anyway it looks like we will all feel poor soon.

[MrBen]

snorky Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Lets be honest, this is budget-lite given the way

> we have caned it for the past decade, with no

> thought for the future

>

> Those over 150K will likely have tax minimisation

> schemes onboard anyway

Indeed. Salary alone is a very tax inefficient way to draw income for the self employed when you are taking personal risks to make a living that the employed are not.

[SeanMacGabhann]

Now, I keep hearing this.... and I can see that Thierry henry is better than Alan Smith - but in finance...how have "the best" let this happen? In short, I don't believe we have the best as it is and anyone who leaves won't be missed, be the indigenous or not

But as an adviser, where would you suggest they go to maximise their income?

[Mick Mac]

Switzerland, Luxembourg and Ireland are the normal choices.

The UK, and people working here, are I believe not responsible for this sub prime led disaster. We have however suffered from it. Why the US has not had to eat humble pie and beg forgiveness from the rest of the world I know not why.

[SeanMacGabhann]

You aren't going to advise anyone to leave the UK to go to Ireland surely be to jaysus!!!

I'm not suggesting that UK is solely responsible for the problems, but the UK financial markets were significantly hubristic about it's light-touch regulation (ie basically telling anyone they needed to calm down a bit to "f*** off!") so I think they do shoulder some responsibility. But If I was an American working at a large bank over hear (and if I throw a smartie in any direction from desk I will hit at least several) i wouldn't be looking at many other countries as "a better bet", either from a job-security or a tax efficient alternative. Speaking to the people around me, they plan on staying put

[????]

The pounds already tanking...I can see our credit rating getting downgraded and it's back to the IMF for a Labour Chancellor again...we need a massive cut in Public Sector spending wether we like it or not.......

[Marmora Man]

Headlines - "taxing the rich"

Actuality - "squeezing everyone that buys fuel, booze ad fags + cutting public expenditure by stealth while raising a very small % from those earning over ?100K but it makes for good back bench support to G Brown"

[AllforNun]

Cracking Budget ! - That's another Labour Landslide, what with that and the masterstroke of putting on the conservative MP's and their 2nd jobs in the spotlight , genius. Gordon is a true politician, the Cons will not know where to start and the lib's main election flag shredded in one swift move ! Did he mention anything about putting some money aside for the Nunhead Regen Scheme ?

[louisiana]

Mick Mac Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Switzerland, Luxembourg and Ireland are the normal

> choices.

>

> The UK, and people working here, are I believe not

> responsible for this sub prime led disaster.

So AIG Mayfair was actually operated from...Timbuktu?

[Mikecg]

What a pile of old crap that was, Ano Domini has shafted us all with the rough end of a pineapple again.

[Mick Mac]

Mick Mac Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Switzerland, Luxembourg and Ireland are the normal

> choices.

>

> The UK, and people working here, are I believe not

> responsible for this sub prime led disaster.

So AIG Mayfair was actually operated from...Timbuktu?

I'm sorry I honestly don't know what this means Lou.