Bullet Points: Thursday 18th September 2014

Whilst the referendum is taking place in Scotland, there are other things that are happening, so a few quick bullet points on the stories outside Scotland.

• Somerset County Council is dipping into its reserves to cover a predicted £7mlln overspend, at least that’s what BBC News is reporting.  Local councils have been forced to cut spending on local services by central governments that have been slowly eroding local government.  If local councils were allowed to raise the money they need to run the local services they need to run, we wouldn’t have these stupid stories about councils “overspending”.
• News Corp have called Google a “platform for piracy”.  I know there are differences in attitudes between different companies, but to call another corporation a platform for piracy, seems over the top, even for the old salty sea dog himself, Captain Murdoch, shiver me timbers!
• Police in Rio De Janiero have arrested 22 of their own officers, for involvement in a bribery and extortion racket.  This is shocking behaviour by a force that people are supposed to trust to enforce law and order, not partake in criminal activity.
• TD’s and Senators in Ireland have returned to face two big issues.  One is the budget that gets announced on 14th October 2014, the other is a wide ranging banking inquiry that is examining Irish banks in the run up to the bank guarantee.  The budget though is the bigger issue after a larger than expected 3% growth rate in the Irish economy.  Could we be seeing a return of the “Celtic Tiger”?  If so, the Irish government must be careful not to have that tiger run away with them, as it did before.
• Lastly, Spain’s Prime Minister has spoken to Spain’s parliament and issued a warning ahead of Catalonia’s upcoming referendum on independence on 9th November.  He said the EU was made to bring states together, not tear them apart.  That implies that a United States of Europe was the intended outcome, and I think any such thoughts about a United States of Europe are in the realms of daydreams and fantasy.

The UK Budget 2012: Winners and Losers

What George Osborne has done today in Westminster, is akin to being a wolf in sheep's clothing.

On the one hand, he's helped everybody, especially the low paid, by raising the allowance, the starting point at which you earn tax, to £9,205 from April 2013, but he'spenalised the middle income earners, by lowering the point where they start paying 40% down to £41,450.  And the rich get the bonus of having the over £150,000 tax rate lowered to 45%.

He's hurting pensioners by freezing their personal allowances until the personal allowance catches up to it.

Child Benefit will be kept by people earning up to £50,000, and there will be a sliding scale, so that when you reach £60,000, you get no child benefit. But that still means two people, earning £49,000 each could get the child benefit, whilst one earning £61,000 would not.  That inherent unfairness has not been addressed.

Corporation Tax, will get reduced to 24% in April 2013 and down to 22% in April 2014.

Adding a 7% stamp duty for houses worth over £2,000,000 is one thing, and I do like the idea that any corporations paying for houses over £2,000,000 will pay 15%, that closes that little loophole.

Unfortunately, this is a budget that rewards the super rich, and penalises middle income earners, families and pensioners.  It has been dressed up as fair, and it is clearly anything but.