SPRING BUDGET 2001
It seems very likely that this
Budget is the one on which the Government will fight a General Election. The Chancellor had to balance the usual desire of Government in this
situation to please the electorate against the need to preserve his reputation
for prudence and not to raise the prospect of inflation and interest rate rises.
In the background, there has
also been a level of protest on tax and spending policies that has been
unprecedented in recent years – on pensions and fuel among the general public,
and against new tax measures for personal service companies and international
groups among businesses. Mr Brown
had to consider whether to keep some of these interest groups happy.
The Chancellor also usually likes to spring some generous surprises in his speech. In the event, almost everything he mentioned had been announced in one form or another in advance of Budget Day, and it has been necessary to search through the accompanying Press Releases to find out more details and to find some measures that were not announced directly to the House.
These pages sets out the major proposals from the speech and the press releases, together with some of the changes to come on 6 April 2001 which have already been announced.
Significant
points and further information.
AUTHORISED BY THE INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS IN ENGLAND AND WALES TO CARRY ON INVESTMENT BUSINESS