The 2012 Budget - As Revealed In Leaks To The Press Days Beforehand

The Huffington Post UK  |  By Posted: 19/03/2012 16:35 Updated: 20/03/2012 13:14

Budget
What has Osborne got in his red-box? We already know most of it...

On the week before the Budget, ministers who have been involved in deciding it normally go into a state of "purdah" and not say anything in advance about it. The post-war chancellor Hugh Dalton had to resign after innocently telling a journalist details of the Budget he was about to announce, as he walked to the chamber.

This Budget, though, seems quite different to those of recent years. Leaks have brazenly appeared in the national newspapers, with no attempt by ministers to distance themselves from them.

The 'Quad' nature of drawing up coalition budgets is being blamed. The final details are being hammered out by George Osborne and David Cameron - alongside Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander, also a Lib Dem.

With two parties wrangling over the details, more special advisers and other staff are involved than under a single-party government. It magnifies the potential for leaks considerably.

So it seems we already have a good picture of what will be announced.

In good news for Tories and well-off business owners, the 50p tax rate looks set to be scrapped.

George Osborne will shy away from an outright abolition of the tax rate, settling for a compromise level of 45p for those earning over £150,000. After a year, the level will be on course to return to 40p.

The LibDems seem to be resigned to the end of the 50p tax rate. Deputy leader Simon Hughes said that the rate's existence is not of "central" importance to his party, adding that he would be happy as long as the rich paid more.

So the Chancellor will have a few moves to appease his coalition partners. Osborne has already pledged an "aggressive" move to clamp down on tax avoidance, particularly to "come down like a ton of bricks" on those who avoid stamp duty.

It is said that the LibDems are also seeking reassurances on international aid, with a continued commitment to a 0.7% GDP being spent on it. The signs look positive for this with Louise Mensch writing this morning in support of the move.

The "squeezed middle" will benefit as well, due to a tax receipt windfall. Osborne will certainly accelerate the move to raise the income tax threshold, pushing it nearer £10,000.

The well-off will have further pressure put on them as the Chancellor will increase the annual charge on non-domiciled residents from £30,000 to £50,000. However, the £50,000 rate was also mooted last year but failed to materialise.

The government looks set to push ahead with a plan to privatise the Royal Mail. The Government will take on all the assets of the pension fund, along with its liabilities and will handle the postal workers' pensions for decades to come.

The Chancellor will also make it easier to build on countryside, with reforms to planning legislation. Osborne said he was "deeply frustrated" with the slow planning process and ready to "shake-up" the rules.

Laws for restricted trading hours on Sundays will be relaxed for shopkeepers across Britain. In a bid to further boost the economy, emergency legislation will be passed to ensure shops can stay open longer.

The Chancellor will also take up an idea, originally proposed by Ben Gummer, to give taxpayers a break-down of what their money is being spent on.

Finally, Osborne should have some good news to pull out. Reports suggest that he'll boast of borrowing next year falling below £100bn for the first time since the economic crisis. We can expect the Chancellor to boast of a rosier growth outlook, along with falling inflation.

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On the week before the Budget, ministers who have been involved in deciding it normally go into a state of "purdah" and not say anything in advance about it. The post-war chancellor Hugh Dalton had to...
On the week before the Budget, ministers who have been involved in deciding it normally go into a state of "purdah" and not say anything in advance about it. The post-war chancellor Hugh Dalton had to...
 
 
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12:59 AM on 03/20/2012
I think he will probably do something to 'help' the lower paid (as well as giving extra allowances to his rich friends). However, this will not be a genuine attempt to help the low paid, it will just be a token gesture to make him look good. Moreover, the government tends to give it in one hand and take it away with the other, and/or give very little - it will not be enough to make any significant difference to peoples' lives. Redistribution of wealth is all that would really help significantly improve the lives of the low paid and and the super rich are too greedy to allow that to happen.
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11:35 PM on 03/19/2012
I dearly hope the old chap won't put a half penny tax on caviar and brandy. One would be out of pocket me thinks and would be forced, forced I tell you, to increase the rents of the scum I have the misfortune of inhabiting, often cohabiting my properties. Still, we're all in this together.
Richard Britton
British Socialist Global Realist
09:58 PM on 03/19/2012
what about the unemployed?
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mmartini54
Roll on 2015!
10:03 PM on 03/19/2012
The price we have to pay for our economic stability. And when times are better, we can open the castle gates and let them in again.
Richard Britton
British Socialist Global Realist
10:08 PM on 03/19/2012
I am 45 and feel like I will never work again
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mmartini54
Roll on 2015!
09:06 PM on 03/19/2012
If I was in the same room as Osborne, Camoron or any of their cronies, I'd have to sit on my hands. I'd have to.
04:57 PM on 03/19/2012
nice to see huff post likes the tory budget,but then again they are in the one per cent so not surprising really
11:34 AM on 03/20/2012
Quote the statements from the above article showing that Huffpost likes the budget. Or just one statement.