Budget

[rov1200]

Help for the lower paid???

A £1000 increase in their tax allowance...so far so good

Vat going up by 2.5% to 20%
Child benefit frozen for 3 years

As most of the lower paid earnings are spent on consumables won't they be worse off?

[Count-A-Strong]

As most of the lower paid earnings are spent on consumables won't they be worse off?

How do you come up with that conclusion?

[ummmm]

Paying more VAT I presume.

[BertiWooster]

The overall impact is that the benefit of the tax allowance is going to be wiped out , by the other reductions and cuts in spending .

It's a classic case of giving a little with one hand but taking a lot with the other .

The poorest in society is going to be hit hardest - I can see no evidence that the rich is going to bear more pain than the poorest , as osbourne has tried to sell this .

[Count-A-Strong]

Yes but how does rov come to the conclusion that most of the income of lower paid workers are spent on consumables?

[ummmm]

The VAT rate has changed on gas and electricity etc?

[Gromit]

// Yes but how does rov come to the conclusion that most of the income of lower paid workers are spent on consumables? //

Most of their money is spent on feeding themselves. If the VAT on that increases 2.5% then they will be worse off. They could of course eat less.

[ummmm]

And buy less clothes....

[R1Geezer]

well It takes 80000 out of tax, so at least they get the choice what to spend it on rather than the governement doing it.

[bednobs]

there is no VAT on food

[ummmm]

There are on some bednobs....remember the 'cake or biscuit' fiasco with M&S?

[McMouse]

There's no VAT on childrens clothes

[Gromit]

bednobs

You are correct.

[Schutzengel]

There is VAT on the sale of hot foods. The less disposable income that people have, then a higher proportion has to be spent on the necessities of life such as gas and electricity, and on petrol or diesel to get to work (often low paid), if they are lucky enough to own a car. There is even VAT on some pet foods which affects pensioners whose only companion is often a pet. The increase in VAT does nobody any good, but does not affect the lifestyle of the rich in the way it affects people on lower incomes.

[ummmm]

So Gromit.....M&S got a massive VAT rebate for what?

[Gromit]

ummmm

M&S got £3.5million rebate because IR wrongly classified their chocolate Teacakes as biscuits.

Let them eat cake.

[Dodger666]

"Help for the lower paid"?

I see no mention of an increase in the allowances for people aged over 65. Admittedly the over 65s get higher allowances than the under 65s but they will get nothing from this budget except higher costs.

Does anyone know different?

[modeller]

I see he is clamping down on these excessive housing benifits. He is putting a cap on what can be paid out . Some families were being paid almost £200k a year
e.g . One family had 7 children and were housed in a big expensive house and £75k was quite a common occurrence throughout the country.

http://www.timesonlin...cs/article6860248.ece

[bazwillrun]

but we still have hundreds of millions to throw in to that bottomless pit known as foreign aid every year !

beyond belief

[modeller]

Oh come on be fair bazwillrun Mugabe and his African friends are now down to their last few Bentleys and they are last years models .

[trapped]

Voters may now realise that Gordon Brown was right when he warned about the Tories and Lib Dems that they would make cuts in cost of living, put VAT up, and cut benefits and jobs. Pity Voters refused to listen as we are now going to pay the price.