The Great Debate UK
Budget not as generous as it first appears
-Julie Meyer is CEO of Ariadne Capital, a technology investment and advisory firm backing entrepreneurs in media, moble Internet and communications. The opinions expressed are her own.-
I recently spoke at an IBM event alongside former chancellor Norman Lamont about the issues that face entrepreneurs and how we can turbo-charge these value creators to help rebuild the country’s wealth.
As I digest Wednesday’s budget and what it holds for entrepreneurs, I’m thinking back to that night and it convinced me not to be too impressed with what at first looks like it could be a generous budget.
At a simplistic level, it splits down into taxes and funding. It doesn’t get talked about much, possibly because it’s so dull, but employers’ National Insurance is one of the most onerous taxes on business. It’s ironic that entrepreneurs are taxed for paying salaries when you think about it.
How will the budget play out?
-Julia Whittle is principal and head of international, Punter Southall Financial Management. The opinions expressed are her own. She will participate in a Reuters Budget live blog at noon GMT on Wednesday, March 24, 2010. Please tune in and join the discussion. –
We would certainly expect Chancellor Alistair Darling to use this budget to make a strong statement ahead of the general election to try to repair public confidence, but this may be difficult without making the situation worse.
Darling’s “lame-duck” budget
- Mark Bolsom is the Head of the UK Trading Desk at Travelex, the world’s largest non-bank FX payments specialist. The opinions expressed are his own. He will participate in a Reuters Budget live blog at noon GMT on Wednesday, March 24, 2010. Please tune in and join the discussion. -
While the UK’s financial media has billed the 2010 budget as Chancellor Alistair Darling’s most important – due to their assumption it will be his last – it seems that the financial markets have taken a more relaxed view, feeling its importance has been somewhat overstated by the media.
Budget? A fudge-it, more like
- Claer Barrett is associate editor of the Investors Chronicle. The opinions expressed are her own. She will participate in a Reuters Budget live blog at noon GMT on Wednesday, March 24, 2010. Please tune in and join the discussion. –
Covering the budget is usually an exciting time for a personal finance publication like the Investors Chronicle – but this year, the adrenaline has been replaced by apathy.
Unified funding required to stimulate innovation
-Danny Wootton is UK Innovation Director at Logica. The opinions expressed are his own. He will participate in a Reuters Budget live blog at noon GMT on Wednesday, March 24, 2010. Please tune in and join the discussion. -
It is pretty well accepted that budget cuts in public spending are inevitable, but it is important that a plan to effectively use the funding that will be available to stimulate the economy and drive innovation forward is developed.
2010 Budget: Time to face the music
- Edward Croft is CEO of Stockopedia, a UK-based website which aggregates research, commentary and analysis for investors and offers social networking opportunities. The opinions expressed are his own. He will participate in a Reuters Budget live blog at noon GMT on Wednesday, March 24, 2010. Please tune in and join the discussion. -
In his recent ‘New Economic Model’ speech, Shadow Chancellor George Osborne rightly emphasised the need to restore a savings culture in this country. Investment to GDP is the lowest of any G7 country.
Price of tax collection hits small businesses hardest
The cost of tax collection in the UK is almost 20 billion pounds per annum, according to a recent report from Britain’s Institute of Economic Affairs, a free-market lobby group.
The amount reflects the cost of compliance and administration as well as Britain’s handicap of having the longest tax code in the developed world, co-authors Francis Chittenden, Hilary Foster and Brian Sloan write in “Taxation and Red Tape”.
Budget should pave way for businesses to hire
- Joe White is chief operating officer at gandi.net. The opinions expressed are his own. He will participate in a in a Reuters Budget live blog at noon GMT on Wednesday, March 24, 2010. Please tune in and join the discussion.-
With the general election just around the corner, chances are that this will be a very safe budget from Chancellor Alistair Darling.
The Budget: What’s it got to do with economics?
- Laurence Copeland is a professor of finance at Cardiff University Business School and a co-author of “Verdict on the Crash” published by the Institute of Economic Affairs. He might participate in a Reuters Budget live blog at noon GMT on Wednesday, March 24, 2010. Please tune in and join the discussion.-
The UK media have a long-established tradition of investing Budgets with a theatrical level of tension far in excess of their economic importance. It remains to be seen whether they will consider next week’s budget worth the effort of building up, because it is likely to be a complete non-event.
The phoney budget
Thomas Story is tax director at BDO. He will participate in a Reuters Budget live blog at noon GMT on Wednesday, March 24, 2010. Please tune in and join the discussion.-
The March 2010 Budget, to be held next Wednesday, will inevitably be highly political as it is effectively the starting gun for the general election campaign. In this context, further significant fiscal measures to tackle the 178 billion pound government deficit will almost certainly be postponed.
