|
In
his seventh Budget speech, Chancellor Gordon Brown
delivered an upbeat performance and based his forecasts
on a rapid world economic recovery. He was determined
to remain loyal to his spending plans and found money
to give a boost to both pensioners and parents.
However,
the Chancellor surprised the markets by raising his
government borrowing projections by only £3bn, basing
his optimism on a strong international economic upturn
next year.
With
last year's increases in National Insurance and taxation,
which came into effect during this April, Mr Brown
did not impose any new taxes on individuals.
As
was expected, he cut half a point off his forecast
for growth this year. But he again surprised the City
by counting on a strong recovery next year with growth
of between 3 and 3.5 per cent, as consumer spending
picks up and the American economy bounces back after
the war in Iraq.
For
a full summary of the key announcements, please refer
to our
Budget 2003
summary.
article
dated 05/2003
|
