Deloitte Preview Of Budget 2012

Bill Dodwell, head of tax policy at Deloitte, considers what tax measures the Chancellor is expected to focus upon in the Budget on 21 March, and what we already know is in the Finance Bill 2012.

Following a particularly tough 2011, when growth was hampered by sharp rises in commodity prices and events in the Eurozone, Chancellor George Osborne faces a challenging environment for his 2012 Budget.

The Office for Budget Responsibility forecast in November 2011 that tax receipts for 2011-12 would be £554 billion, but public spending and investment (net of other receipts) would push the UK into borrowing £127 billion. The Institute of Fiscal Studies forecast a slightly better outlook in its Green Budget: tax receipts fractionally higher at £555 billion, but a lower borrowing requirement of £122 billion. The January receipts and spending figures were positive, which supports the lower borrowing requirement.