Small business owner
John Brandler, 53
An art dealer, he lives in Essex with his partner of 25 years, Linda
Rodrigues. He earns £45,000 a year and has invested in shares, now worth
£80,000, and an art collection, worth £400,000.
The income allows him to run two Volvos. He has considered moving house, but
is waiting to see how the market pans out in the year ahead. He likes a
brandy or Scotch at the weekends, drinking up to six units a week.
He hopes that nondoms don’t face the brunt of the Budget “because they spend
so much on goods and services”, presumably including the art that he sells.
He voted Conservative at the last election because he believes that “Noddy
would do a better job at running the economy”.
He is keen to see Labour out of power. “I think Alistair Darling is just
Gordon with a different voice,” he says. “If anything good happens, the
praise is received by Gordon Brown, but if it’s bad Alistair Darling takes
the blame.”
Impact
£343 better off
Verdict
“I shouldn’t be better off under Labour. They seem to be taxing the low paid
and those dependent on alcohol. I might have two or three units one week, or
none in another week, so increases in duty on wine and brandy are not going
to touch me. The duty rises ought to go on alcopops, which young people
drink.
“On gas-guzzlers, they’re actually family cars they’re taxing. In a family,
you can’t go driving around in a Mini.
“Selfishly, I’m pleased with the Budget. But as someone living in the country,
I’m not. I could afford to be worse off if the money went to nurses, or to
transport. In London I have to use a taxi. Moving one person around in the
back of a cab isn’t green.”
Professional couple
James and Selina Shattock
Live in Backwell, Somerset. Their three children, all aged under 10, are at
state schools.
Mr Shattock, 32, is a financial practitioner and a higher-rate taxpayer, with
various investments including unit trusts and shares. His wife does not have
paid work.
They have two cars and £285,000 of their mortgage to pay off over 15 years,
although they plan to move in five years. Mr Shattock drinks up to 15 units
of alcohol a week. A likely Labour voter, he wants to see continued
investment in health and education, and on rail and cycle infrastructure. He
says that the Chancellor has faced testing times and doesn’t think that the
Tories would do better with the economy. He would like to see more
incentives to work, including a rise in the minimum wage.
Impact
£456 better off
Verdict
“I’m all for changes to child poverty, the environment, schools - all changes
in the right direction. I’m pleased to see they are trying to eradicate
gas-guzzling cars and the huge waste of carrier bags. Perhaps they’re hiding
behind green issues to raise more taxes. I agree with the changes to capital
gains tax. I also really wanted to see a major change to transport
infrastructure, so I could use public transport more.”
Single pensioner
Lindy Wiltshire, 69
A divorced mother of three from Alton, Hampshire. She is a retired
craftswoman, although she continues to make cases for musical instruments
occasionally. She lives off her state pension plus £3,500 a year from
savings. She is angry that a third of this goes towards council tax.
Her savings should have been greater, but her pension was with Equitable Life,
which collapsed. She is unimpressed by Alistair Darling’s first nine months
in the job. “He has not done well. It is outrageous that they have bailed
out a little bank like Northern Rock. They didn’t help Equitable Life, so
why Northern Rock?”
Impact
£290 better off
Verdict
“It’s very depressing. The plain facts are that life has become harder and
more difficult for people on a low income – their considerations have been
ignored. Council tax is a massive problem.”
Tradesman
Tony Barrett, 44
A self-employed carpenter and joiner from Hampshire, he is divorced, a father
of three and a lower-rate taxpayer.
He drives a Ford Galaxy to ferry his children around and a Ford Transit for
work, clocking up about 250 miles a week. “I feel the Government tries to
get money any which way from the motorist, and small business people
suffer.”
His large mortgage is also a concern. He feels that more needs to be done to
encourage small business owners and that married couples should get tax
breaks so both parents do not have to work. “The Government needs to do more
for families.”
Impact
£164 better off
Verdict
“£3 per week will buy very little, with costs going up everywhere. I would
like to see immediate improvements. When are we as parents likely to see the
effects of the spending in education?”
Young professional
Stephen Wright, 26
The contract surveyor from North London is desperate to buy a place of his own
but cannot afford to do so. The prices are too high not only in the capital
but also as far afield as Watford.
A basic-rate taxpayer, he lives with his parents and feels his only hope of
getting on to the property ladder is if they sell up and leave London.
“I really hope there is something for first-time buyers in the Budget. I know
there is the shared ownership scheme, but friends of mine who have done that
are still struggling and have had to take in a lodger. Houses for key
workers is all very well but it doesn’t help me.”
He would like to see more incentives for car manufacturers to produce hybrid
cars or allow for existing models to be converted. He enjoys a drink at
weekends, consuming about 25 units in beer and wine, and smokes about 40
cigarettes a week.
Impact
£56 better off
Verdict
“Overall I am pleased with the savings - something is better than nothing, I
guess.
“I am very pleased that the changes in income tax are affecting me for the
better, but I am not so happy with the increased duties on cigarettes and
alcohol. They seem to be never-ending. It seems that we are getting taxed on
luxuries left, right and centre in addition to tax on necessities such as
food and fuel. And yet again, another Budget that doesn’t help the nonkey
worker first-time buyer.”
He is disappointed that there has been no big change in incentives to boost
production of the most environmentally friendly vehicles, which he believes
should be available widely to all motorists.
Retired couple
Bill and Barbara Jupp
They live in a three bedroom semi in Oxford which was bought for £1,845 in
1954 and is now worth £275,000.
Mr Jupp, 76, is a retired car worker and campaigns for pensioners’ issues. His
pension income shrunk in real terms over the past year. His income is
£12,000 a year, including benefits and investments, basic state pension and
work pension. He wants to see a rise in the basic state pension.
They are unimpressed by both Labour and the Tories on the economy. Mrs Jupp
said: “Labour have been very disappointing. But I wouldn’t trust the
Conservatives, considering what they did last time.” Her husband wants
something close to a revolution: “I want a Socialist government, and I
shan’t be voting Labour again.”
Impact
£436 better off
Verdict
“The basic state pension is in its centenary year. Back then it was worth 20
or 25 per cent of average earnings. Today it is only worth 14 per cent. So
we’ve come a long way down in 100 years,” said Mr Jupp.
“The £50 [extra from a rise in the winter fuel allowance] is per household,
not per pensioner, and that goes straight to the fuel companies. So when
they try to say pensioners are better off, I would like to know why and how?
We’re out of pocket.”
Disabled worker
Jill Mahler
She is trying to restart her business as an access adviser. Her income of
£13,000 a year, largely from her pensions, doesn’t go as far as for other
pensioners because of the extra expenses associated with her cerebral palsy.
She is married to Peter, a retired inventor, who lives abroad on a pension
of €1,200 (£920) a month. They own their flat in Dorchester, Dorset, and are
pleased that it falls short of the inheritance tax threshold. It will pass
to their three sons, all in their 30s.
Fuel tax is a big concern: “Because I live in a rural area I depend on my car.
I’d like to see a reduction in fuel tax.”
A Liberal Democrat voter, she is unimpressed by Alistair Darling. “One felt
that Brown was the Iron Chancellor. Alistair Darling hasn’t made an
impression on me either way.”
Impact
£476 better off
Verdict
“Last year I was told I was quids in, but it was eaten up by fuel costs. The
astronomical gains gas and electricity companies get from charges need to be
passed back to the consumer.
“This plastic bag thing is a red herring. Also, these green initiatives like
that on gas-guzzlers sound good, but then they get modified until they have
no impact.
“The six-month stay until they increase fuel duty is insignificant. They’re
just playing to the gallery there.”
Single mother
Jan Huskins, 44
A divorced mother of two who works as a local government advocacy officer in
West Yorkshire, earning about £15,000 a year. She is studying for a master’s
in project management at Leeds university. She has had a long, unresolved
battle with the Child Support Agency, which makes her angry with the
Government, but is a fan of tax credits, receiving £60 a week to top up her
earnings.
“The CSA has caused me heartache, but tax credits are fantastic. When you
become a single parent your income falls and a lot of mums stay at home
because they can’t afford to work. But tax credits can make it possible,
which is good for your self-worth and the household finances.”
Impact
£960 better off
Verdict
“It is disappointing that nothing was done about stamp duty – nothing that
will affect me anyhow. The lack of movement in the stamp duty thresholds has
an impact on the market, as first-time buyers may be reluctant to buy, which
affects the rest of the market.
“I think it is great that the Government is spending money on education. It
would be beneficial to see an overhaul of the CSA, making parents
responsible. Unfortunately, the tax credit system, although helpful, is
sometimes nothing more than an offset against losses.”
Company director
Marcus Smith, 44
Director of a PR firm, he lives in South London with his wife and three sons.
He is a higher-rate taxpayer and part of his income goes on school fees for
the boys, who are 15, 13 and 10. Joanna, his wife, works as a teaching
assistant.
He has a financial adviser who takes care of a portfolio of Isas, Tessas and
other stocks and shares. He wants to see concessions to the private sector
and private equity firms to be given more incentives. But he’s not antitax
and would like to see “something clever to encourage environmentalism. He
would also like to see continued investment in public services such as
health and education - despite having private health insurance and sending
his children to private schools.
Labour still has his vote, but only just, as Northern Rock has shaken his
confidence in Alistair Darling. He likes George Osborne’s “new lines of
attack”, but doubts David Cameron’s ability to run the country. “My vote is
Labour’s to lose. They have it until they screw it up.”
Impact
£323 better off.
Verdict
“The thing that strikes me is that he [Alistair Darling] has made various
announcements and all the amounts look to me to be quite small, which
suggests that finances are pretty tight and that there isn’t much room for
manoeuvre.
“I welcome environmental measures and there sounds to be some of those. But
this is all tinkering at the margins. His hands seem to be tied.”
Nurse
Hazel Dyer, 27
A senior staff nurse at St Mary’s in Paddington, West London. She earns
£23,000 and is about to be married. She and her husband-to-be, who earns
about the same, hope to take on the mortgage of the maisonette she co-owns
with a friend. The fixed rate on the £79,000 mortgage has a year to run and
she is keen that interest rates stay low. She pays 6 per cent of salary into
an NHS pension and has a mini-Isa. She hopes that the Budget will do
something to recognise marriage in the tax system, and would like to see
stamp duty cut.
Impact
£62 better off
Verdict
“I fall into that middle bracket – I don’t have children, I don’t have a
pension, so I get ignored. I like the charge on plastic bags. Reusing bags
can make a big difference. The rises in alcohol don’t really bother me. I
don’t drink too much anyway.”
Tax advice
Chris Holmes, Marion Jones and Sonia Rai, all of Ernst & Young
