On 28-Nov-08, the ICAEW has commented on the PBR:
http://www.icaew.com/index.cfm/route/162061/icaew_ga/en/Technical_amp_Business_Topics/Faculties/News/Pre_Budget_Report_summary
The URL goes to a page from which you can download the 28-page PDF file.
The comment is slightly technical, but written in fairly plan English. All taxpayers should have a go at skim-reading it, if only to feel aghast at the excess complexity built into the UK tax system.
There is also a fair amount of cheer-leading ("This is what we campaigned for"), illustrating that the ICAEW is more activist than it used to be.
From page 3 of the overview:
"In summary, the Chancellor probably did the best with very limited resources at his
disposal, but whether it will be enough to hold off an economic storm or a financial
crisis, or both, looks highly debatable. Given the deterioration since the 2008 Budget, it
looks a reasonable bet that the financial outlook will deteriorate even further. This will
wreck the financial projections that underpin this PBR and bring us much closer to a
crisis in the Government's finances and the unwelcome spectre of the UK having to
take drastic action to avoid a possible default on its debt. At that point, taxes will have
to rise and spending probably be cut. If we are still in a recession, this could send the
economy into tailspin. No wonder the Chancellor looked so gloomy: with nothing in the
cupboard to counter the economic storm, we are now playing for high stakes and the
consequences for the UK if the forecasts do not turn out as predicted in this PBR could
be very serious."
End of message.
Offline 
Send Email