Today Gordon Brown will seek to put the economy at the centre of Labour's bid for a third term in power as he delivers his ninth Budget.
How will contractors be affected?
Specifically for contractors there is nothing predicted that will affect them directly. No IR35 or Section 660 type measures. However, as always, the devil is in the detail. The detail will be published by the Treasury on their dedicated Budget 2005 page.
Budget 2005 reports
Here's a round up of todays pre-budget reports from the web:
Budget to set scene for election [BBC]
Treasury officials have said there will not be a pre-election giveaway, but Mr Brown is thought to have about £2bn to spare.
Predicted increase in the stamp duty threshold from £60,000.
Mr Letwin's claim that Mr Brown was planning a 40% tax on profits from house sales has been dismissed by Treasury officials.
Budget buzzwords [MSN]
“Prudent” was used eight times in 2000’s Budget, but only twice in last year’s statement. “Prudence” – usually assumed to be Mr Brown’s other favourite noun – appeared five times in 2000’s speech but only once in 2004 and not at all in 2003.
The Chancellor has mentioned “tax” less frequently over the past five years but “savings” has become more popular.
“Investment”, “education”, “stability” and “science” were dominant buzzwords in 2004’s Budget.
Buzzwords that – rather surprisingly - have become less popular over the past five years include “responsibility”, “pensions”, “euro”, “interest rates”, “National Health Service”, “employment” and “inflation”.
Light hearted budget facts [GMTV]
Budget Day used to be an occasion of high fashion. Until recent years, many MPs wore top hats and formal morning dress.
The word comes from the French "bougette", a little bag, which explains why the Chancellor "opens" his Budget.
The scarlet briefcase was made for Gladstone in 1860 and has been used by every Chancellor since. After the last general election it was looking a little worse for wear and Gordon Brown had a new budget bag made by young craftsmen.