Saturday 6 April 2013

TheBlindJournalist: March Budget 2013

On the 20th March 2013 at 12pm George Osborne who is the Chancellor Of The Exchequer read out the budget in the House of Commons. The budget is usually in March or April and it is where the Chancellor Of The Exchequer gives a speech about the Government's plans for taxation changes and the state of the national finances.

There were many key aspects to the latest budget such as from 2014 the government will pay 20% towards a new house's deposit and that no tax has to be paid below £10.000, however in this blog my focus is going to be on alcohol and cigarettes.
In 2012 a pack of cigarettes went up by 37p and alcohol cost increased by 5%. A pack of cigarettes were £7.95 however they have now increased by 25p meaning if you wanted a pack of cigarettes now you would pay £8.20 (RRP)
George Osborne in his budget announced that tax on alcohol has reduced by 1p. A pint is still £3.05 before tax reduction and with the NHS spending £8m a day treating alcoholics, should the price of alcohol increase? This debate did take place and responsible drinkers felt that they shouldn't be made to pay more for other people's problems.
Although the budget has been released, for cigarettes would come into affect once tobacco manufacturers have produced new packs however cash and carry's increases prices as soon as the budget is released therefore forcing newsagents to also increase their prices even though the stock that the cash and carry's bought was at a lower price, they do this to maximise profits.

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