Betfair Official Blog

The Budget 2008

We've read it so you don't have to...

What does the mighty Darling's somnambulist Budget mean for you?

As ever, the review begins with the vital stuff, the manna of British life: booze up; fags up. A pint of beer will be 4p more expensive. A bottle of wine will be 14p more expensive. A bottle of whiskey will be 55p dearer. If you are a cocktails man, you will be 73p-a-drink worse off.

And the ciggies. A packet of 20 cigarettes will rise by 11p. The Government does not enjoy taxing smokers, taking their money. It wants you to give up. Of course, if you do give up, you might spend your money on something else, say, chewing gum. In which case, chewing gum will rocket in price and become taxed. It costs a fortune to clean it off streets after all.

Elsewhere, taking into account winter fuel payments for the elderly, households with someone over 60 get a £200 payment, while those with someone over 80 get £300. Following the Budget, the households will get an extra £50 and £100 respectively as a one-off payment in 2008-09. As you were, grandma. For now.

And what of the rest of the family? From April 2009 the family allowance payment for the first child will rise from £18.80 a week to £20. £1.20 - not exactly an inducement to start a family, but take into account the rising cost of heating, cigarettes and booze, you'll need something to do of a night. So why not - I know women who charge less.

Of course, the big one was on 'Non-doms', who must pay a £30,000 levy to live in the UK. This will enable the non-doms to avoid paying tax on their foreign earnings. Says Alistair Darling, "For those non-domiciled individuals or families who have chosen to make Britain their home I believe it is right and fair that they should, after seven years, pay a reasonable charge to maintain their right to be taxed differently to other UK residents."

Commenting on this announcement Caroline Gordon-Smith, partner at law firm, Stevens & Bolton LLP, says, "The UK is looking increasingly unattractive to wealthy business people, who drive the economy. Taxing the rich is all good and well and may sound like a noble principle but in a slowing economy which relies on their brainpower and business experience, it may be the final straw for executives."

The argument is that non-doms are high-powered brains who we need. The other argument - and one employees might use of course - is that thanks to the tax situation, non-doms are cheaper to employ than doms.