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On 12 March 2008, Alistair Darling the UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer, presented his maiden budget speech. Although the speech itself was only some 50 minutes long, this was not unexpected given that Mr Darling had already revealed many of the tax measures and concessions in his October 2007, Pre-Budget Report. However, notwithstanding the brevity of the speech, it was accompanied by some 270 pages of Budget Notes, and an array of supplementary documents.
Against a background of global economic uncertainty, Mr Darling announced a slowing in growth of the UK economy for the current year to some 1.75-2.25% - though he stressed this was still growth, and better than many of the UK's competitors. Looking ahead, the Chancellor predicted growth would increase to 2.25-2.75% and 2.5-3% in 2009 and 2010 respectively.
On the tax side, there was a wide range of measures, many of which had been expected. The proposals in respect of taxation of non-domiciles living in the UK, and the changes to the way of counting days of presence in the UK when determining UK tax residency will be of particular interest to Hong Kong residents who are either frequent visitors to the UK or who may be considering moving there. The various measures in respect of the environment, including the proposed introduction of tax on plastic bags, will similarly be of interest to many Hong Kong residents.
Full details of the measures can also be found on the UK Treasury website. For additional comment and analysis, please visit our 2008 UK Budget website. |
