Welcome to our 2005 Budget Summary

• Introduction

• Personal tax

• Employment issues

• Corporate & Business Tax

• Capital taxes and Trusts

• Stamp duty land tax

• VAT, Excise & other duties

Gordon Brown presented his ninth Budget on Wednesday 16 March 2005. At under an hour it certainly fell well short of the longest continuous Budget speech ever. That was delivered by William Gladstone on 18 April 1853 and ran to four hours and 45 minutes!

If the British public were hoping for a Budget filled with pre-election sweeteners then they were disappointed. Gordon Brown used his speech to remind us of his golden rule, to balance the current budget over the economic cycle, and to set out his long-term vision for the country.

Press speculation, which was somewhat muted in the run up to the Budget, had focused on stamp duty land tax breaks for first time buyers and the Chancellor did not disappoint.

As expected, a raft of anti-avoidance measures were announced. This was the expected outcome of last year’s new tax scheme disclosure regime.

In addition the government will continue to consider ways to reduce administrative burdens on business following the Hampton Review.

Our summary focuses on the issues likely to affect you, your family and your business. To help you decipher what was said we have included comment and suggested action points. If you have any questions then please do not hesitate to contact us for advice or to discuss any action you may wish to take.

The Budget proposals may be subject to amendment in the Finance Act. You are therefore advised to contact us before taking any action as a result of the contents of this summary.

Main Budget proposals

• Stamp duty land tax thresholds raised

• Income tax and national insurance rates unchanged

• Tax breaks on ISAs extended until 2010

• Child Tax Credit increased

• No changes to rates of corporation tax, capital gains tax, air passenger duty, insurance premium tax or climate change levy

• Extension of film tax reliefs

• Anti-avoidance measures

But nothing on

• Residence and domicile

• Corporation tax reform

Previous announcements

Some of the changes detailed in this summary have been the subject of earlier announcements. Here is a reminder of some of the more important ones:

• Introduction of the Child Trust Fund

• The new rules on pre-owned assets

• Taxation of company vans

• Employer-provided childcare

• Anti-avoidance relating to employee remuneration
  
  

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Disclaimer - for information of users
This summary is published for the information of clients. It provides only an overview of the main proposals announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Budget Statement, and no action should be taken without seeking professional advice. Therefore no responsibility for loss occasioned by any person acting or refraining from action as a result of the material contained in this summary can be accepted by the authors or the firm.