UK Budget 2005 - Comment
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A political Budget, at business's expense
Wednesday's Budget does not guarantee Labour a third election victory. But Brown's lengthy list of pledges and handouts, prudently matched by tax rises invisible to voters, has given the opposition a hard target to shoot at.
Philip Stephens: Prudence mixed with populism
The Treasury has given up all pretence of objectivity in its presentation of the Budget. It reads like Soviet-era party propaganda.
Martin Wolf: The issue is better, not higher spending
Some argue that higher taxes automatically make a country uncompetitive. But countries do not compete like companies.
John Gapper: Brown’s Chinese challenge
Gordon Brown has always been fond of statistics, usually cited as evidence of how well the British economy is doing under his stewardship. But his recent trip to China provided him with some less encouraging numbers.
John Plender: Double non-taxation a global issue
Some of the more arcane references in the Budget speech are designed to address the biggest threat to the government's corporate tax harvest: globalisation.
Nicholas Timmins: Focus on cutting red tape
Will 2005 be remembered as the high tide of regulation and inspection in the UK? On past performance, it would be unwise to bet on it.
Chancellor liberally sprinkles sweeteners
Gordon Brown's Budget consolidated Labour's domination of the political battleground in the run-up to the general election. But this was a Budget that was sensible rather than spendthrift, one which fell somewhat short of the expectations.
Lex live: Tarnishing the Golden Rule
Gordon Brown’s ninth budget gave little joy either to taxpayers or his critics. But it did allow him to declare, with some satisfaction, that he had met his golden rule, to borrow only to invest over the economic cycle.
A extraordinary wager on a faraway future
Who would buy a 50-year gilt? At a yield of 5 per cent, it would provide very little compensation against the risk of future inflation, writes Krishna Guha.
Argument on forecasts unresolved
As confident as ever in the infallibility of his public finance forecasts, Gordon Brown dismissed all talk of black holes in the books and crowed about his ability to meet his rules on borrowing and debt.
