Politics never changes, it is a few days now since the budget and the press have made hay with Osborne’s supposed hit on the pensioners and tax cuts for the rich without really understanding in depth what they are actually talking about!
GRANNY TAX shouted the Daily Mail leading the morning chase, where politics are involved the press are not interested unless it is an attack, if the truth be known pensioners have done better under this coalition government than any other and all the chancellor has done is freeze the allowance which will cost some pensioners money but George Osborne has ensured state pensions are raised to compensate. Whilst some pensioners may be worse off their overall deal since this government was elected is overwhelmingly positive.
The next scream we heard from the press was TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH which is rubbish because the 50P tax rate brought in next to zero in revenue and the press should know better because the world over there is proof that this move will see an increase in tax revenue, when the Conservatives reduced the top rate of tax down to 40p, back during the days of Nigel Lawson, the tax take for that sector of income tax doubled! Further reading
Of course this was a bit of a messy budget but that is because it is a coalition budget and the politics of coalition means that various vested interest groups have a big influence on the outcome, add to that the Lib Dem’s were going public with everything despite the fact that everything was supposed to be confidential and you have the makings of anarchy, hopefully our country will learn and never elect a coalition again.
There have though been some glaring missed opportunities which in reality are vital to the recovery of this country, so let us just run through what might have been in the budget:
- A National Insurance holiday for smaller companies, National Insurance is simply a tax on jobs which is silly at any time let alone when we have high unemployment, the country can’t afford to get off this particular drug but we couldhave given smaller companies a National Insurance holiday for employers contributions, if every small company took on 1 or 2 additional employees unemployment would tumble and the politics would be easy!
- Easing of stamp duty for the first