In line with expectations, and in accordance with my responsibilities as a diverter of stress, I thought I’d comment on the latest budget by Comerade Chancellor Brown.

Short summary: he’s a shameless thief, isn’t he?

Slightly longer summary: every bit of good news is cancelled out by one or more bits of bad news.

Good news: Cut in basic rate of income tax, from 22% to 20%
Bad News: Getting rid ot 10% rate altogether

Good news: On the alcohol front: none
Bad news: Duty on nearly everything up;
     Duty on spirits not cut back
     Nannying duty on fags up
     Stupid EU VAT rules prevent removal of VAT on nicotine patches, etc

Good news: On the motoring front: none
Bad news: Class warfare raise in tax on large engines
     Raise in fuel duty
     Greenish nonsense further pushed with low emissions vehicle duty

Good news: Capital gains threshold raised
Bad news: Not nearly enough

Good news: Inheritance duty threshold raised
Bad news: Inheritance duty still exists

Good news: Corporation tax to be lowered
Bad news: Small business tax to be raised

Overall:
Good news: fucking little enought of it, really
Bad news: Rise in tax burden, rise in spending, passing of buck to the next schmuck to fill post, further reinforcement of bullshit green agenda, further reinforcement of bullshit class warfare agenda, further announcing old invenstment as new money, further misleading of the people.

There’s been a lot of talk about epitaphs for Brown’s chancellorship. I think that my Bad News points above cover most of it quite satisfactorily. Except for the dour, paper-pushing, unfunny and control freakery aspects of his personality, of course…