Budget

[Rod]

Cogito ergot sum.

I am thinking of adding LSD-precursor...

[Dave Plowman (News)]

The overall taxation is a difficult thing to assess. Personal allowances have gone up as have child allowances etc. But were you really expecting taxation reductions in the present economic climate? Oh - don't expect them from the Tories either if they get in at the next election, according to the news this morning. Only in their second term. And just how they can predict world economics then...

[Andy Hall]

I wasn't particularly suggesting there. This is something that could easily be handled through the VAT system for road transport users.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

But they already reclaim VAT on fuel?

[:Jerry:]

The haulage industry could use 'blue diesel' at some level of tax rebate [1], as has been suggested many times, the only thing this might affect is how much money HMG has to waste.

[1] this could even be stepped depending on what the business is.

[:Jerry:]

Not a problem with vehicle fitted with tachographs, a simple calculation on declared (recorded) mileage, this will be even easier once all these vehicles have been fitted with the tamper proof electronic version.

Only amongst those who are clueless, putting extra duty on fuel will mean that one only pays for what people use whilst being a far more efficient way of making people think about fuel consumption than a blunt tax on ownership/wish to use can ever be.

[:Jerry:]

Now that *would* penalise the NuLabour supporters wanting their 'two weeks in Benidorm', three times a year!...

[Andy Hall]

Yes I know. Sorry I should have been clearer. The VAT processing system - i.e. measuring and reporting of input and output taxes means that businesses have to report their expenditure on fuel in order to recover the VAT. That mechanism already exists. All that would then be required would be for qualifying businesses to receive additional refund for their fuel expenditure over and above what they paid in VAT. This would have the effect of reducing their net fuel cost and compensating for an increased duty in the general market.

[:Jerry:]

Why ever not, after all didn't Mr Brown-Darling tell us all that "We've never had it so good" only last week?...

Oh - don't expect them from the Tories either if they get in at

No, they will be using the funds to buy back the family silver Mr Brown-Blair sold off cheap...

[Roger]

The message from "Dave Plowman (News)" contains these words:

Surely only from those who lost out.

[Roger]

The message from "Dave Plowman (News)" contains these words:

I'm with you there.

[Roger]

The message from "Dave Plowman (News)" contains these words:

Personal allowances and band boundaries have gone up by 4% but the £15000 above is culled directly from a table in The Independent which seems to ignore the need to compensate for inflation. On that basis most people covered by The Independents many tables make modest gains but, being the Independent those on annual incomes below £10,000 and pensioners too young to receive their OAP are ignored. In the tables on incomes from £10,0000 to £150,000 the biggest winner is a pensioner couple aged 65 - 74 in the range £90,000 to £150,000 with a monthly gain of £132 and the biggest loser a single pensioner aged over 75 on £10,000 with a monthly loss of £36.

[:Jerry:]

Of which there must be a very large number, but being single and possibly frail they are not going to do much more than pull another blanket over themselves and sit a bit closer to the one bar electric fire - so much for Nu(caring)Socialism...

[Derek Geldard]

Not by any means all of them.

DG

[Derek Geldard]

I can't, there are no butchers round here, Farm Shop meat sells at a premium price and it's quality is very variable.

What do you have against muesli ? It's largely unprocessed grains.

Can't buy local mushrooms, and local tomatoes would only be available

2-3 months of the year.

DG

[Derek Geldard]

If you want cheap airlines stopping off in Nigeria or Chad to fill up tax free, that is. Or flying on the vapour in their tanks to get to a dodgy shitehole of a fuel stop in a desert somewhere.

Hmmm, wonder whatever did cause both engines to stop simultaneously on the BA Boeing inbound from Peking ? 2 engines, 2 furl tanks not empty,

2 fuel pumps damaged by cavitation (sucking at air), and all independant.

DG

[Derek Geldard]

According to Gordon Mc Shite-Features it's the strongest it's ever been, More in employment than we've ever had yada yada yada, (More immigrants than ever ? - Hush my lips).

And even if it's a shitehole here all the other countries are worse than us, (He thinks we've all got the stereotypical "TorreMolinos" view of other countries).

Except they aren't which is why the pound 's plummetting against the Euro like a set of wallies off of Blackpool Tower .

Sorry, not understood.

DG

[The Natural Philosopher]

MMM. Consciousness expansion of any sort is very non PC these days innit?

Keep em dumb..

I love Camerons new line

'WE will try not to make things WORSE'.

[The Natural Philosopher]

NO: I want a so called green tax to achieve lower fuel consumption, not higher prices for low mileage drivers and be irrelevant for high mileage drivers or people who buy new luxury cars.

[The Natural Philosopher]

You have to be kidding. Try looking at the label on the box sometime. Mostly it's laden with sugar, fats and imported fruits and nuts..

Anything but healthy.

Not with polytunnels mate. where do you THINK they come from? Holland mainly;