Looking at recent stories in the press and online, you might have thought that you missed the budget…
…except that the budget isn’t being held until 21st March 2012, so hasn’t actually happened yet.
There are many stories that seem to be based on fact, when before the budget many of these are just based on rumours.
We will know the actual details of any tax changes in the budget on the 21st March.
Until then, here are my top 3 predictions for what may happen in the budget:
1) Fuel duty – is planned to increase later in the year. It may be that this is scrapped – we already have a very high tax on fuel, which generates a large income already. Transport costs are a major expense for many of the self-employed, so any relief in this area would be welcomed.
2) VAT – whilst a reduction may stimulate some sales, what is not known are the amount of extra costs in dealing with a temporary change, such as updating systems for the change, which offset the income from any extra sales.
3) Surprises – there is usually something in the budget that was not expected, so watch out for this.
What do you predict for the budget?