Introduction
Unusually there was little tax content in the Chancellor's speech, but the Pre-Budget Report (PBR) itself comprised 212 pages of detail. In addition, there were 35 Pre-Budget Notes issued by HMRC to wade through.
The backdrop to this year's PBR was particularly intriguing. It was obvious that at some point the Government would need to raise more tax to start repaying the exceptional borrowings resulting from the economic crisis. In this connection we were already on notice that a new 50% top rate of income tax would apply to taxable income exceeding £150,000 per annum from 6 April 2010, and personal allowances would be withdrawn from individuals whose taxable income exceeded £100,00 per annum. But those increases alone were clearly not going to bridge the gap. So the question was how the difference was to be tackled – more tax increases, less spending, or both.
To read the full report please click here. (http://www.smith.williamson.co.uk/pre-budget-report-2009-brochure)
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