Darling cuts inheritance taxes for couples
CHANCELLOR Alistair Darling has announced that from tomorrow that the inheritance tax threshold for couples will rise to 600,000 and then to 700,000 by 2010.
This will also affect by widows and widowers facing existing death duty bills and all married couple and civil partners.
He also promised an attack on super-rich private equity bosses and non-domiciled businessmen who make their money in the UK and live abroad.
The aim of this two-pronged strategy was to undermine the Tory bounce based on Shadow Chancellor George Osborne’s promise to take all but millionaires out of the inheritance tax bracket.
Edinburgh South-West MP Mr Darling said this showed the Tory figures did not add up and their plans would help the richest families while his allowed another 2 billion to boost public services.
He said that his plans would provide a budget for the Scottish Government that would rise by 3.7 billion over the next three years.
Mr Darling also said that:
UK economic growth is expected to be between 2 per cent and 2.5 per cent next year, the Chancellor said. And for 2009/2010 it is 2.5 per cent to 3 per cent.
Net borrowing is forecast to fall from 38bn this year to 23bn in 2012.
That there would be an extra 400m for military operations abroad this year and an extra 7.7bn for defence spending
Mr Darling announced a new single budget for the police, security services and other agencies to deal with terrorism, to rise by 1bn a year to 3.5bn in three years’ time
He promised to reform the capital gains tax system, ensuring those working in private equity pay a “fairer share”. There will be a single rate of 18 per cent for all.
A number of “loopholes” for non-domiciled taxpayers will be examined. Mr Darling said Tory plans to charge a flat rate of 25,000 to such people, would mean only 15,000 paying. This would mean revenue of 650m a year, rather than the 3.5bn that the Tories had estimated, he added.
Investment in science and technology to rise to 6bn in three years’ time.
The main rate of corporation tax will be cut by 2p in the pound to 28 per cent by next year, the lowest in the G7 group of wealthy industrialised nations.
Aviation duty would be paid on flights, rather than individual passengers.
The overseas aid budget will rise to 9bn by 2010.
The amount of child maintenance a family can receive without it affecting their benefits will double from 20 a week to 40 a week by 2010.
Pension credits will rise by 5 a week from next April for single people and 7.65 for couples.
However Mr Osborne accused the Chancellor of “fake figures” and a pre-election statement without an election.
