March 13, 2008 Archives

I just discovered that there's a new The Lost Boys movie in the pipeline. The Lost Boys 2: The Tribe is slated for a July 2008 release. Even though it has both Corey Feldman and Corey Haim attached the fact that it is going straight to DVD probably tells us all that we need to know.

After looking through the changes announced in this week's budget it would appear that very little will change with my day-to-day, week-on-week spending ability.

Income Tax & National Insurance
Due to the fact that I'm currently not working, the raising of the personal allowance to £5,345, reduction from 22% down to 20% and abolition of the 10% starting band won't affect me. The change in National insurance Contribution rates and thresholds also won't affect me directly. Of course, when I start working again these will become relevant.

Tax Credit & Child Benefit
These changes also don't affect me and to be honest, although there are rises in these, it would appear that they aren't t likely to be of any significant benefit to parents anyway; especially when inflation and rises in the price of commodities such as wheat are taken into consideration. Look for significant rises in the cost of flour and bread as the worldwide wheat shortage starts kicking in.

Winter Fuel Payment
I don't qualify; I'm under 60. But, this will help my Dad somewhat.

Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs)
I don't have any ISAs so the increase in the overall annual investment limit and the change from the starting 10% rate on the non savings income to a starting 10% rate on the savings income doesn't affect me.

Alcohol & Tobacco
Although I do drink it isn't particularly often; even when I was in full time employment. I rarely drink pints so the 4p rise in the price of a pint has no bearing. The 55p rise in the price of a bottle of spirits is what is likely to affect me most. I tend to drink Jack Daniels and Coke whilst out and once in a blue moon I'll treat myself to a decent bottle of malt whisky. On the Tobacco side, I don't smoke, so the increases there won't affect me.

Motoring Taxes
The changes in Vehicle Excise Duty won't directly affect me. My Dad is disabled and he is therefore exempt from paying the duty; this is paid directly via his DLA. The freeze on the planned fuel duty increase of 2 pence per litre in April 2008 until October 2008 is quite welcome; although I'm wondering how long companies like Tesco and Morrison can maintain their local prices at about 105p per litre when some forecourts in London are charging up to 130p per litre.

Other Measures
A lot of the other measures announced in the budget lean towards protecting the environment.

The government has called on retailers to encourage the shift away from single-use carrier bags and have announced that if there is not sufficient progress by the end of the year they will look to impose a charge on these bags from early next year.

All new non-domestic buildings to be zero carbon from 2019. This is in addition to the ambition for all new homes to be zero carbon from 2016.

Air Passenger Duty will be replaced with a duty payable per plane rather than per passenger from November 2009.

Finally, the UK is currently working towards a long-term goal of reducing CO2 emissions by at least 60 per cent by 2050. The Climate Change Bill will commit the government to fixed and binding 5-year carbon budgets