Budget and Pre-Budget Reports – in association with HSBC

 

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Budget announcement, 22 April 2009

We'll be covering the Budget live on this page from 12 noon on Wednesday, with the help of Simon Chapman of the Freight Transport Association. The Chancellor's speech itself will be starting at 12.30pm.

You'll be able to comment and to ask us questions - we'd love to hear from you! 

 

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Pre-Budget Report, 24 November 2008

The Chancellor of the Exchequer's 2008 Pre-Budget Report speech to the House of Commons took place on 24 November 2008 at 3:30pm.

Major points:

  • VAT is to be cut from 17.5% to 15% for 13 months from next Monday.
  • Fuel duty will be raised to offset the cut in VAT.
  • The 2p/litre rise in fuel duty will go ahead on 1st December 2008.
  • Small businesses will have a temporary increase in tax relief thresholds for empty properties.
  • £1bn will be made available for a temporary Small Business Finance Scheme.
  • Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) increases will take place as planned.
  • After the next General Election, the rate of National Insurance (NICS) will rise by 0.5% and there will be a new 45% rate of income tax for those earning over £150,000 a year.

Check out hauliers' reactions to the Pre-Budget Report.

Comment from the trade associations:

Freight Transport Association

James Hookham, FTA director of policy, says: “By offsetting the reduction in VAT with an increase in fuel duty, he has added thousands to the transport bills of companies across every sector. Not only does this hurt businesses directly, it also hurts the consumer, who will end up paying more to cover transport costs of items such as food, clothing and white goods.”

The  FTA’s chief economist Simon Chapman believes the government missed an opportunity to raise money for the Treasury by introducing a Eurovignette.

“At a time when the Treasury cupboards are bare, we are surprised that the Chancellor has not taken the opportunity to fill them with up to £30 million. We’ve been waiting for the Eurovignette for eight years, during which the number of overseas trucks on our roads has greatly increased. Surely the Chancellor is missing a trick?”

Road Haulage Association

RHA chief executive Roger King says: "We have been putting forward the case of unfair competition from foreign hauliers for many years.  Indeed the Transport Select Committee made a case for measures to level the playing field between UK hauliers and their continental counterparts.”

King adds the increase in fuel duty is a smack in the teeth for UK hauliers.

“The Chancellor claims that the increase in duty is offset by a reduction in VAT.  But he does not seem to appreciate that while this may be true for motorists, it is not true for hauliers because they can reclaim VAT in full. So this represents a real increase in the industry's operational costs and is not what we expected or deserved."

British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association

A BVRLA spokesman says: “The 13 month reduction in VAT to 15% should give the leasing industry an invaluable boost during these tough times and we estimate that it will enable our members to claw back over £53m from the government by the end of 2009.

“Businesses can reclaim the VAT cost of their fuel regardless of the rate, but they cannot reclaim fuel duty. Hauliers and other businesses that depend on road transport will be bitterly disappointed by this devastating increase in costs. The Chancellor has given the road transport industry a real kicking.”


 

Budget Report, 12 March 2008

This page has the latest on the March Budget report and how it affects the road transport industry.

  • Government abandons plans to charge foreign trucks - Plans for a vignette have been dropped - and the decision was not announced in the Chancellor’s speech or featured on the Treasury’s website.
  • Budget 2008: Fuel duty hike delayed - Chancellor Alistair Darling has deferred the 2p/litre fuel duty hike until October. However, fuel duty will rise by 0.5p in real terms "for environmental reasons" in 2010.
  • Budget is a mixed bag for transport operators - Alistair Darling’s first Budget contained no major surprises. Many of the taxation measures it outlined had already been announced last year, and most of the new proposals were targeted at certain specific areas.

Details:

The Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling presented the Budget Report to the House of Commons on Wednesday 12th March 2008 at 12:30pm.

  • The BBC is reporting that the Chancellor will delay the predicted 2p rise in fuel duty until the Summer, due to the high price of oil.

 

Previous Budgets:

Pre-Budget report, 9th October 2007

Pre-Budget report disappoints industry

DfT backs down from vignette scheme

Pre-Budget Statement - Initial Points

Details can be found at the following URLs:

 

Budget, March 2007

Budget 2007: Small Businesses Hit Hard

Budget round-up by Paula Tallon, Director and Head of Direct Tax at tax specialists Chiltern plc.

News Stories:

External links:

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