Thursday, 25th March 2010

Drivers have been given a break but overseas investors are set to suffer under Alistair Darling’s 2010 budget. The surly Chancellor of the Exchequer somehow came out of yesterday’s budget report smelling of roses, despite the country’s finances being in their worse state in the history of peacetime Britain.

In what will come as a relief for drivers, Mr Darling announced that planned rises in petrol prices will be shelved for the time being. The increases will be clawed back in the years to come, leaving hard-hit drivers with a feeling of relative wealth in the current credit crunch.

First time buyers are also set to benefit from the budget, as an increase in their stamps duties will also not come into effect yet. In a real Robin Hood move, this will be achieved by an increase in stamp duty on expensive homes, however.

In another steal-from-the-rich initiative, Darling announced towards the end of his speech that a tax investigation deal has been struck with Belize. The bombshell was met with rowdy cheers from Labour backbenchers, all of who were aware of the indirect reference to Tory fundraiser Lord Ashcroft.

Lord Ashcroft, whose billion-pound business headquarters are based in the Central American country of Belize, admitted early this year that he does not pay tax on his fortune. The new tax agreement would allow countries such as the UK, Belize and Dominica access to tax arrangements of their nationals living abroad. Mr Darling said it was unfair that some people can avoid tax in an economic crisis, and that the deal could be implemented in a matter of days.

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→ Strikes to cost British Airways £100 million say Unite
↑ March 2010 news index

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