“We have not raised these taxes out of dogma or ideology.”

Alastair Darling budget speech 2010……

Nonsense on stilts!

“Tax relief on pensions will be restricted from next year, but again only for those with incomes above £130,000 a year.”

“I can announce I will double the stamp duty limit for first time buyers from midnight tonight – from £125,000 to £250,000, for this year and next. To ensure this measure does not burden the public finances, this relief will be funded through an increase in the stamp duty to 5 per cent for residential property over £1m, from April next year.”

“Tobacco duty will increase from today by 1 per cent above inflation and then increase by 2 per cent in real terms each year until 2014.”

“Alcohol duties will also increase by 2 per cent above inflation for two further years from 2013.”

A guaranteed place in education or training for all 16 and 17 year olds;
A guaranteed job, work experience or training for every 18-24 year old;
Supporting a higher number of apprenticeships;
And now, more university places for those who want them.

“The cost of this £2.5bn one-off growth package, to invest in Britain’s future, will be partly met by switching resources from within existing budgets and by the higher revenues from the tax on bankers’ bonuses.”

and the final insult to our intelligence – “I can announce today we will do more to combat financial exclusion, through a guarantee that everyone can have a basic bank account.” – they won’t have anything to put in it of course, but they will all have a shiny new bank acount.

Give me strength!

1
JuliaM March 24, 2010 at 15:44

What, precisely, is stopping everyone from having a bank account now?

2
Tractor Stats are Zero March 24, 2010 at 15:56

Lack of anything to put in it.

3
Bobby March 24, 2010 at 15:56

JuliaM,

Millions can’t open a bank account if they are unemployed or have never worked, fail credit reference checks or have been declared bankrupt etc.
And you can’t just turn up with a wad of cash and ask to open an account. New laws to ‘prevent terrorism’ and stop money laundering have been recently introduced.

4
Anna Raccoon March 24, 2010 at 16:11

Surely Bobby, more to the point is that you can’t just turn up without a wad of cash and ask to open a bank acount….

That is most people’s problem rather than having a suitcase full of unacounted for cash.

Which begs the question – why do they need a bank acount – so their dole money can be paid in?

5
Cato March 24, 2010 at 16:13

The only thing that cheered me up about this budget was seeing Brown’s face when Cameron said, “This PM will never get a medal for courage but his Ministers are mentioned in Despatches.”(or something very similar)

I thought Brown was going to explode. Made I larf though.

6
blastproof@rocketmail.com March 24, 2010 at 18:28

“Which begs the question – why do they need a bank acount – so their dole money can be paid in?”

For dole money, yes: the dole office give advice on how to open a basic bank account when you first sign on. It suits the authorities to pay money into a bank account rather than send out a Giro in the post so you can get cash from the post office which leads me to … cash.

The other reason they want everyone to have a bank account is for data gathering on you. This will become the most important reason why they want everyone to have a bank account. Cash is anonymous and they don’t like it. They want to track and trace you: don’t be surprised if your nhs.doctor.gov.uk says to you when you visit the surgery that you appear to be spending too much in Oddbins. “Joined up government”, innit?

7
Gloria Smudd March 24, 2010 at 18:39

Spot on, blastproof.

8
Anon 00:32 March 24, 2010 at 18:57

I think the push for bank accounts for everyone is a move to reduce the cash only economy and grab more taxes. With prepaid credit cards available now, it’s perfectly possibly to operate cash only and not lose out on shopping online etc.

9
Joe Bratley March 24, 2010 at 19:54

From the mouth of a DWP jobsworth.
We have to make sure that the alleged benefit fraud claiment
no longer lives here, the system just keeps giving, if the
fraudster has a bank account to send the money too.
If these resipiants of this Governments largess are motivated
to vote, we are FUCKED.

10
binlid March 24, 2010 at 20:30

“More university places for those who want them.”
It’s only a week since the announcement was made that HE funding has been cut. So, how does that one work, then?