Download or read book The 2004 Pre budget Report written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Treasury Committee and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 150 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Committee has examined the Treasury's Pre-Budget Report (PBR) (Cm. 6408, ISBN 010164082X) published in December 2004, which set forecasts for the economy and public finances and reported on the implementation of the Government's long-term goals. Conclusions reached by the Committee include: that the UK's presidencies in 2005 of both the G8 and the EU puts the Government in a strong position to play a positive role in advancing discussions on global economic reform and fairer trade with developing countries; the Treasury's growth forecast for 2005 is more optimistic than the external consensus, although the gap probably lies within the bounds of forecasting error and the Treasury's recent forecasting record for economic growth has been good; there are concerns that it is unlikely the Treasury will be able to meet its 'golden rule' for current borrowing levels for public finances. The Committee also restates its previous criticism for the short period of notice given for publication of the PBR.

Download or read book Pre budget Report 2004 and Budget 2005 written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Environmental Audit Committee and published by . This book was released on 2005-04-13 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Committee's report examines the measures in the latest Pre-Budget report (Cm 6408, ISBN 010164082X) and 2005 Budget (HCP 372, session 2004-05, ISBN 0102932484) in relation to environmental objectives, as well as more generally the Government's progress on environmental tax reform and spending. It also examines the increasing use of Regulatory Impact Assessments as the central mechanism for assessing costs and benefits of legislation, including environmental impacts; and summarises key energy policy issues in the context of the Climate Change Programme review currently being undertaken. Conclusions drawn include concern that it has taken so long for the Government to acknowledge its Climate Change strategy is off course, and that the difficulties encountered in reducing emissions reflect the need for a far greater priority to be given to mainstreaming environmental objectives. The Committee recommends that the Government should establish a Cabinet Committee for Climate Change to drive forward action and to draw together responsibility for energy policy in one department.

Download or read book The 2005 Pre budget Report written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Treasury Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2006-01-25 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Committee's report examines the Government's Pre-Budget Report 2005 (Cm. 6701, ISBN 0101670125) published in December 2005. Issues discussed include: the state of the economy (including the UK Presidency of the G8, UK economic growth estimates for 2006 and beyond, and consumer spending) and public finance matters; as well as issues relating to taxation and pensions. Recommendations made include that the Treasury should give at least four weeks notice of the date of the Pre-Budget Report in order to enable sufficient parliamentary scrutiny, and if this target is not met, the Treasury should give an account of the reasons why.

Download or read book Government Response to the Committee s Seventh Report of Session 2004 05 on Pre budget Report 2004 and Budget 2005 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee and published by . This book was released on 2005-10-19 with total page 14 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Government response to HCP 261, session 2004-05 (ISBN 0215024338)

Download or read book Budget 2005 written by Great Britain. Treasury and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2005 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Budget presents an updated assessment of the economy and public finances and reports on Government policies. It: shows that the economy is growing strongly and the Government is meeting its fiscal rules; announces a long-term investment programme for schools and sets out further measures to help young people develop skills; sets out reform to reduce the regulatory burden on business; announces free local travel for people over 60 and provide £200 towards the council tax bill for those over 65; makes a commitment to increase Child Tax Credit in line with earnings; doubles the threshold for stamp duty; increases the special reserve for military operations; announces a better targeted Local Enterprise Growth Initiative; introduces measures to modernise the tax system; defers any increase in fuel duty until September 2005.

Download or read book Pre budget 2005 written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Environmental Audit Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2006 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Committee reports on the progress made by the Treasury in placing environmental objectives at the heart of its fiscal policies. This year's pre-Budget report (Cm. 6701, December 2005, ISBN 0101670125) is found to be inadequate, especially in the context of UK CO2 emissions actually increasing once more. No significant new measures were announced, and the Committee sees a continued slowing down of the Treasury's momentum in turning rhetoric into action. It believes the Treasury should redefine Air Passenger Duty (APD) as an environmental tax and that APD rates should more accurately reflect the carbon emissions of the flights to which they apply. Charging APD on flights rather than passengers could also act as an incentive to more efficient use of aviation fuel. The Committee also recommends action on aviation fuel duty, biofuels, car energy efficiency, steps to wean the economy off over-reliance on oil, stamp duty and council tax reductions for homes built or refurbished to high environmental standards. Each pre-Budget report should include figures on total revenue from the climate change levy, aggregates levy, and landfill tax. Although the Treasury accepts the principle of increasing taxes on "bads" rather than "goods" its reluctance for bold reform of the tax system mystifies the Committee. A Green tax Commission should be reconsidered, to develop a proper communications strategy to sell the environmental programme to the public. The Committee exhorts the Government to make moves on the climate change problem, as waiting for universal agreement is a recipe for stasis. Finally, the Committee regrets the Treasury's decision to abolish the Operating and Financial Review required from large companies, in that it appears to view sustainable reporting as an optional extra. It hopes that the proposed new business reviews will continue to require some form of social and environmental disclosure from companies.

Download or read book The Barnett formula written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Lords: Select Committee on the Barnett Formula and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2009-07-17 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Barnett Formula is the mechanism used by the United Kingdom Government to allocate more than half of total public expenditure in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Formula has been used for the last thirty years to determine the annual increase in allocation (the increment). Each year these increments are added on to the previous year's allocation (the baseline) to create what is now a significant block grant of funds. The Formula accounted for almost £49 billion of public spending in 2007-08. Despite the political changes within the United Kingdom the Formula has continued to be used and has never been reviewed or revised. The Formula was only intended to be a short term measure and should no longer be. A UK Funding Commission should be established to assess relative need in the UK's regions and advise on a new method of distributing funding to reflect those needs. The baseline has never been reviewed to take account of changing population patterns; this means that the grant provides funds without reference to the needs of each of the countries and regions of the UK. There should be a link between the grant of funds made to each of the administrations and their actual per capita funding needs. The Committee's research suggests that England and Scotland have markedly lower overall needs per head of population than Wales and Northern Ireland. The Committee suggest that the UK Funding Commission undertake an assessment of relative need now and in the future and that they undertake periodic reviews as well as publish annual data about the allocation of funding between the devolved administrations.

Download or read book A Comparative History of Motor Fuels Taxation 1909 2009 written by Carl-Henry Geschwind and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2017-05-09 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Slowing down global warming is one of the most critical problems facing the world’s policymakers today. One favored solution is to regulate carbon consumption through taxation, including the taxation of gasoline. Yet gasoline tax levels are much lower in the United States than elsewhere. Why is this so, and what does it tell us about the prospects for taxing carbon here? A Comparative History of Motor Fuels Taxation, 1909–2009: Why Gasoline Is Cheap and Petrol Is Dear examines these questions by tracing the evolution of gasoline tax policies in the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand since the early twentieth century. In the process, it highlights the crucial role played by fiscal crises.

Download or read book Budget 2006 written by Great Britain. Treasury and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2006-03-22 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Budget sets out the Government's plans for taxation, public spending and economic growth for the coming year. Details announced include: an annual growth rate of 2.5 per cent for 2006-07 with a forecast of 2.75 to 3.25 per cent for 2007-08; an inflation rate of two per cent this year; and public sector borrowing on course for a £16bn surplus over the economic cycle ending in 2010-11, with net borrowing set at £37 billion for this year and £36 billion next year, falling to £23 billion in the year to 2010-11. Measures announced in the 2006 Budget include: i) the climate change levy to be indexed in line with inflation from 2007, a new vehicle excise duty rate of £210 for the least fuel efficient cars (4x4 cars or SUVs) and the establishment of a new £1bn energy and environmental research institute funded by government and private industry; ii) measures to help to single parents into work and tackle child poverty including an increase in child benefit, child tax credit and childcare vouchers and a top-up to child trust fund accounts at the age of seven; iii) an increase in duty of nine pence on cigarettes and one pence on beer, with a freeze in duty on whisky and other spirits; iv) the exemption on stamp duty raised to £125,000 and a rise in the level of inheritance tax from £275,000 to £325,000; v) the level of investment in schools to rise from £5.6 billion to £8 billion a year; vi) free off peak national bus travel for pensioners in every part of the country; and vii) funding, in partnership with commercial sponsorship, to support top athletes to prepare for the 2012 Olympics.

Download or read book The 2007 pre Budget report and comprehensive spending review written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2008-03-05 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Environmental taxes as a proportion of all taxation peaked at 9.7 per cent in 1999 and have declined ever since, falling to 7.3 per cent in 2006. This report sets out a number of conclusions and recommendations covering different areas of environmental policy. (1) Aviation: the reform of Air Passenger Duty into a levy per flight rather than per passenger is welcome, but tax on aviation must be significantly increased so as to stabilise demand and resulting emissions. (2) Motoring: road transport emissions in England increased by 12 per cent between 1997 and 2006, and are forecast to increase, so it is important for the Budget to put in place rises in fuel duty. (3) Carbon capture and storage: the Treasury must provide more assistance for the development of this technology in the UK. (4) Shadow price of carbon: this should be increased to discourage the approval of carbon-intensive policies and projects, and so improve the prospects of achieving the reduction in global emission targets. (5) Environmental transformation fund: the Pre-Budget report (Cm. 7227, ISBN 9780101722728) announced funding for such a fund, with £370 million to be spent over three years, but only £170 million was new money. (6) Emissions trading: it must be clear when reported emissions figures incorporate the purchase of carbon credits, otherwise they will give a false picture of the decarbonisation progress within the UK. (7) Public service agreements: the new PSA is too diffuse, with no clear departmental targets for reducing emissions; the Government should consider setting emissions reduction targets for specific sectors of the economy. The Treasury has not responded on the scale or with the urgency recommended by the Stern Review (ISBN 9780102944204) and the 2008 Pre-Budget report needs to establish a coherent set of measures to help deliver the UK's 2020 domestic and EU targets on emissions and renewable energy.

Download or read book The 2006 pre budget report written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Treasury Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2007-01-25 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report from the Treasury Committee examines the recent economic analysis and assessment of the UK economy as outlined in the 2006 pre-budget report, and sets out a number of conclusions and recommendations, including: the Committee welcomes the recent rise in the growth rate of business investment, but with the caveat that the downside risk as highlighted in a previous weakness for business investment, remains unexplained; that several risks exist around the consumption growth forecast, including the potential of house prices to fall, and the increase of personal insolvency; the employment rate rise is commended, but a lack of migration statistics in relation to the labour market, means an overall assessment is not possible; although an improved forecast for economic growth in 2006, the Treasury has not forecast an improvement in the fiscal position; the Government appears to be on track to meet the golden rule in the current economic cycle, but will start the next economic cycle with its current budget in deficit; the Committee recommends also that the Treasury, in future Budgets and Pre-Budget reports provide a fuller explanation of its current forecast of the start and end dates of the current economic cycle; also, future Budget and Pre-Budget reports should provide a breakdown of reported efficiency gains by department, and further to enhance transparency and enable effective scrutiny, the Treasury should require departments in their departmental annual reports and Autumn Performance reports in 2007 and in later years to provide consistent and comprehensive information on progress against efficiency targets; the Committee expressed dissatisfaction at the lateness and vagueness of information in relation to expenditure on education, but approved the early announcement of capital spending plans for education up to 2010-11; the Committee though does welcome the Government's decision to commission and publish a range of reviews informing future economic policy, including tax policy; the Pre-Budget report is seen as an effective instrument of fiscal consultation, but this could be enhanced if Parliament and the public were given greater notice of the date of the report, perhaps 4 weeks before the statement is due to be made; where tax changes carry significant risk of forestalling activity or distorting market behaviour, such as the unusual timing and implementation of the increases in Air Passenger Duty, the Committee feels, as a general rule, that those increases should not come into force until the House of Commons has had an opportunity to come to a formal decision on such an increase.

Download or read book Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report and Financial Statement and Budget Report written by Great Britain and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Audit of Assumptions for Budget 2006 written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2006-03-22 with total page 24 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report by the National Audit Office, made under sections 156 and 157 of the Finance Act 1998, examines the conventions and assumptions underlying the Treasury's fiscal projections within the 2006 Budget (HCP 968, session 2005-06; ISBN 0102937311).

Download or read book A Glossary of Terms Used in the Federal Budget Process written by and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 1993-12 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A basic reference document for persons interested in the federal budget-making process. Emphasizes budget terms in addition to relevant economic and accounting terms to help the user appreciate the dynamics of the budget process. Also distinguishes between any differences in budgetary and non-budgetary meanings of terms. Over 300 terms defined. Index. Appendices: overview of the federal budget process, budget functional classification, and more.

Download or read book Beyond Stern written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2007-07-30 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report is about how the Government: sets targets for reductions in UK green house gases; assess progress towards these targets by forecasting the likely levels of future emissions; choose policy instruments to deliver the requisite cuts in emissions; and revises its package of policies in the light of experience. It is two main parts, the first looks at the Climate Change Programme Review, whilst the second examines the proposed Climate Change Bill. The Climate Change Programme Review revealed a number of weaknesses in the UK climate change policy as it became apparent that the target of a 20% reduction in carbon emissions by 2010 would be missed. Revisions to the projection of emissions had not been done frequently enough, so by the time Ministers knew there were problems it was too late to introduce new measures. The programme is however likely to be rescued, somewhat, by Phase II of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, which promises to deliver some real savings. The draft Climate Change Bill, alongside other developments such as the creation of the Office of Climate Change and requirements of the Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act 2006, are broadly well designed and a far-reaching responses to these issues.

Download or read book Pre budget Report 2008 written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Environmental Audit Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2009 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report examines, firstly, the Treasury's response to recession. The fiscal stimulus measures intended to pull the economy out of recession represent an invaluable opportunity to transform the UK into a low carbon economy. But meeting climate change and renewable energy targets will require a step-change in environmental investment. This year's Pre-Budget Report announced a £535m package of green fiscal stimulus measures designed to tackle economic and environmental problems simultaneously. This investment is welcome, but the scale too small- most of this funding was already committed, and will be offset by reduced spending in 2010-11. Extra funding announced for the Warm Front programme will not deliver the scale and speed of change that is needed. Programmes aimed at improving the energy efficiency of existing buildings should be the number one priority for green fiscal stimulus. It is disappointing that the wider fiscal stimulus package contains hundreds of millions of pounds for road building and widening. The Treasury should publish an assessment of the net impacts of its fiscal stimulus package on the environment. The second part of the report looks at green taxation. In real terms, revenue from green taxes has gone down slightly since 1998, while revenue from all taxation has increased by around 30 per cent. On aviation taxes, the Committee criticise the Treasury's backtracking on replacing Air Passenger Duty with a 'per plane' charge, and exhorts the Government to seek reform of the Chicago Convention so as to allow taxation of international aviation fuel. On motoring taxes, it calls for re-examination of the merits and practicalities of a 'car scrappage' scheme to pay people to trade in their existing, older cars, for newer, more efficient models.

Download or read book Pre budget 2006 and the Stern Review written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2007-03-19 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As part of the Committee's annual inquiry into the Treasury's Pre-Budget Report (PBR) and the progress made towards achieving environmental objectives with regards to its tax and spending policies, this publication examines the PBR's fiscal policy announcements in relation to the aviation, motoring, waste and energy sectors, focusing on the findings of the Stern Review of the economics of climate change (ISBN 9780102944204) published in October 2006. Amongst the 40 conclusions and recommendations made, the Committee notes that the Stern Review highlights the central problem involved in efforts to address the effects of global warning, that is the need to take action now before the more serious effects have begun to be felt in order to benefit future generations, a problem that will be both practically and politically challenging. The Committee urges the Government to use the Stern Report in order to promote a better informed public discussion of the science of climate change, so that we can use the limited window of opportunity presently available to prevent greenhouse gases growing to dangerous levels beyond which there are risks of major irreversible impacts, and recognising the Stern Review's accompanying argument that the sooner the world begins to cut its emissions, the easier and less costly mitigation will become.