Budget- March 2012

Will post here as and when I here any news

STOP PRESS

CIGARETTES are going up .37p from this evening - that is one hell of a jump

[TUTTSI]

Re: Budget- March 2012

BUDGET 2012: Fuel prices WILL go up by 3.02p from August to 145p a litre

• Petrol to rise to 145p a litre from August
• Diesel will rise to 150p a litre
• Fair fuel stabiliser will mean that above inflation rises in fuel duty will only return if price of oil falls below £45 a barrel
• Vehicle excise duty to rise by inflation, but frozen for road hauliers
  
• Some motorists say they will have to change their jobs to reduce mileage
• Rise sparks fears of petrol protests similar to those seen across the country in September 2000
  

By Lee Boyce and Richard Hartley-parkinson


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz1pl9HrIcI
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BUDGET 2012: Packets of cigarettes to go up by 37p while alcohol duty is increased by 7%

• Cigarettes, spirits and wine also affected by increase
• Duty increases by five per cent above inflation
  
• Wine expected to hit an average of £5 a bottle
• Tax hike comes despite inflation already pushing up price of alcohol

By Rick Dewsbury
PUBLISHED: 13:15, 21 March 2012 | UPDATED: 13:18, 21 March 2012

Sin taxes: Beer and cigarettes have been hit by a rise in duty in the budget today (file picture)

Drinkers and smokers faced added pain today as George Osborne confirmed another duty rise on alcohol and cigarettes.

The Chancellor told the House of Commons that alcohol will be subject to a rise in duty of 7.2 per cent that will see the price of a pint rising by as much as 10p.

Cigarettes will also increase by five per cent above the rate of inflation, increasing the price of a packet by 37p.

Wine and spirits will also be hit by the increase in alcohol duty. The average bottle of wine will now rise to £5, according to industry figures.
George Osborne told the House of Commons today that the increases would be effective from 2013.
He said: 'Smoking remains the biggest cause of preventable illness in this country.
'There is strong evidence that increasing the price of cigarettes deters people from smoking.

'Duty on a packet of cigarettes will rise by five per cent above the rate of inflation. This will increase the cost of a packet of cigarettes by 37p.'
The Chancellor confirmed that alcohol duty will increase by five per cent above inflation. The changes will be effective from 6pm today.

Economists believe that an extra one per cent in alcohol duty would benefit government finances by £60 million and £30 million could be gained from adding one per cent to cigarette duty.
The extra revenue will help to offset raising the income tax threshold for millions of workers, which will cost the Treasury £3bn a year.
Increase on alcohol duty are being introduced under the duty escalator announced in 2008 by the previous Government. Beer taxes have increased 42 per cent since the budget that year.

More...

• BUDGET 2012: Millions of workers to be hundreds of pounds a year better off as income tax threshold rises to £9,200
• BUDGET 2012: Child benefit cut-off point rises to £50,000 as George Osborne waters down changes in face of protest

The 'sin taxes' came despite official inflation figures showing that prices of alcohol had leapt pt 2.6 per cent in February — the biggest ever increase for the month.
The latest inflation figures published yesterday show the rate of inflation on most types of alcoholic drink has risen significantly since December 2011.

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne holds his budget case outside number 11 Downing Street today before delivering his budget to the House of Commons

According to analysis by the Wilson Drinks Report, WDR, inflation on spirits jumped from 2.0 per cent in January to 11.2 per cent in February, whilst inflation on wine increased from 3.0 per cent to 5.4 per cent, with inflation on beer has more than doubled from 3.6 per cent to 7.7 per cent.
Experts blamed price 'resetting' after New Year discounts — but also the higher cost of grain and transport.
The rises are likely to anger those in the pub and brewing industry who have accused the Coalition of putting up to 1m jobs at risk with the changes.
The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) yesterday called for a freeze in beer tax in the budget, saying a boost was needed for an industry which provides one million jobs.
The organisation cited a survey showing 54 per cent of the public supported the freeze.
The group published a report before the budget into the 'vital role' that the industry plays in creating jobs across the country, claiming that 980,000 people depend on the sector for their livelihoods.

Threat: Experts warned that up to a million people in the brewing and pub industries could lose their jobs as a result of increasing costs (file picture)

Research in parliamentary constituencies showed that London and Westminster had the most pub-based jobs in the country at 11,000, followed by Manchester Central (5,700), Birmingham Ladywood (5,500) and Liverpool Riverside (5,300).
It added that the beer and pub trade adds more than £21bn to the UK economy every year and £13.4bn in UK wages are dependent on the trade each year.
Brigid Simmonds, BBPA chief executive, said: 'These figures show what a huge impact beer and pubs have, especially in terms of local jobs. Beer is vital to the economy and pubs are the heart of our communities.
'The last thing local pubs and pubgoers need is a further beer tax hike in the Budget next week, when instead we could be leading the economy out of recession and creating local jobs. The Government needs to think again.'



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz1pl9n3hJN

[leclerc]

Re: Budget- March 2012

The Daily Mail article is based on average price of fuel today. In August it's a 3p per litre price rise so that means that it could be even higher than the price quoted today.

[TUTTSI]

Re: Budget- March 2012

Personal taxes

• Personal tax allowance - threshold at which workers start paying income tax - will rise to £9,205 in April 2013, up £1,100 from the £8,105 level this April
• Top 50p tax rate being cut to 45p from April 2013. "No chancellor can justify a tax rate that damages our economy and raises next to nothing."
• Top 50p tax rate has caused "massive distortions", report published today shows. The hike to 50p from 40p "raised just a third of the £3bn we were told it would raise"
• Top 50p tax rate is highest in G20 "it is widely acknowledged" as harming the British economy. Can only be justified if raises "significant sums"
• Clamping down on tax avoidance and evasion which "I view as morally repugnant"
• "My goal is a tax system where the lowest paid are brought out of tax altogether"
• From midnight tonight new 7% stamp duty tax on properties over £2m
• Eradicating anomalies in VAT such as on some foods and drinks
• Will keep exemptions for food, children's clothes, books and newspapers
• Plan to give taxpayers statements showing where their tax goes, such as on healthcare and on interest payments on the national debt
• "A tax system that is simple and transparent"
Business taxes

• Corporation tax being cut to 24% in April, having already cut to 26% from 28%
• Corporation tax will be 22% by 2014
• This is the "biggest sustained reduction in business tax rates for a generation". It is an "advertisement for jobs and investment in Britain"
• Need a simpler tax system which "businesses can easily navigate"
• Will radically change administration of tax for our smallest firms.
• Consulting on simplifying tax for firms with turnover up to £77,000
• Above the line R&D tax credit from next year as demanded by business groups
Benefits

• Partly removing child benefit from households where at least one person earns over £50,000 - softened from previous plans
• Considering proposals to manage future increases in the state pension age, beyond the increases already announced
Government bonds

• Debt management office consulting on issuing longer dated gilts beyond 50 years and case for perpetual gilts
Business

• Expanding enterprise finance guarantee
• Want to double UK exports to £1trn this decade
• Expanding UK Export Finance and setting out new plans to help smaller firms in new markets
• Review on how government can work better with private sector on growing economy to be conducted by Michael Heseltine
• Relaxing Sunday trading laws during Olympics and Paralympics
• Exploring enterprise loans for young people starting businesses
• Offering enhanced capital allowances for businesses starting up in the new Scottish enterprise areas in Dundee, Irvine and Nigg
• New Welsh Enterprise Zone in Deeside
Media and technology

• Want to turn Britain into Europe's technology centre
• Help for video games and premium TV shows with tax break that will attract top companies like Disney and HBO to make premium shows in UK
• "It is the determination of this government that we keep Wallace and Gromit exactly where they are."
• 10 cities to share £100m to fund 100Mbps superfast broadband in areas where private sector will not reach
Infrastructure

• Network Rail will upgrade lines in the north of England
• Need to address lack of airport capacity in south-east "cannot cut ourselves off"
• Want to "look at the opportunities for increasing the role of private investment in the road network, learning lessons from the water industry."
Cigarettes, alcohol and gambling

• Introducing new gaming machines duty with standard rate of 20%
• Plan to tax online gambling based on location of gambler not company
Fuel and vehicles

• Do not propose changes to fuel duty plans already set out
• Vehicle excise duty to rise by inflation, but frozen for road hauliers
Energy

• Introducing package of tax changes to ensure get maximum from oil and gas extraction
• Introducing £3bn new oil field allowance to open up fields west of Shetland Islands
Public sector

• Looking at making public sector pay "more responsive" to where workers are
Armed Forces

• Government spending in Afghanistan will be £2.4bn lower than planned over remainder of parliament
• Extra £100 million of improvements in the accommodation of our armed forces and their families
• Doubling the families welfare grant which is used to provide additional support to the families left behind when people deploy

[leclerc]

Re: Budget- March 2012

Campaigners Anger at no change in petrol and diesel prices : Budget Disaster Blog

Fair Fuel UK response to the Budget which did nothing for motorists and more importantly for those who carry food to shop. You may say that putting up petrol is a good thing but when fuel goes up, then so does food prices which effects ALL of us.