COA Solutions – Business Accounting Software

All eyes will be on the Chancellor as he delivers his budget on 24th March. His economic forecasts will be of particular interest. Although we’re now out of recession, everyone wants to know how long it will be until we can give a collective sigh of relief. Grant Thornton predicts economic growth to be around 2 ½ % for 2011 – lower than the Chancellor’s forecast of 3 ¼ to 3 ¾ % and so there is still someway to go.

Alistair Darling’s bold prediction at yesterday’s Budget that the economy will return to growth by the end of 2009, expanding by 1.25% next year and 3.5% in 2011, has generated an avalanche of criticism from opposition parties and industry leaders who have dismissed his predictions as “fantasy”.

Following the announcement of the change to VAT on Monday 24th November, giving a grand total of 4 working days notice until the new rate becomes operational, we have had a busy couple of days helping our customers make sense of the changes and making sure they are in the best position to cope.

So the Chancellor has made his pronouncements in what must be some of the worst kept secrets of the pre-budget report ever! The headline-grabbing changes in VAT and income tax were there, as predicted, along with a number of other measures targeted at increasing spending and getting the economy going again.