Re:locate magazine | Reports & Surveys | No real surprises in budget

PricewaterhouseCoopers confirms that there were no real surprises in Alastair Darling’s recent 2008 budget – but there are a number of changes that will come into effect in April that affect relocation. Among these, non-domicile changes mean that those who have been non-domiciled in the UK for more than seven years will now have to declare overseas income to be taxed in the UK.

Alternatively they can opt to pay a £30,000 levy. This affects high net worth individual in addition to those working in, for example, the City. The situation undoubtedly raises questions that will have a knock-on effect for relocation: will there be a fleeing of non-doms from the UK, as some warn? What of the long-term plans for business and individuals? How will businesses need to adapt to these changes?

Other budget highlights include a 12.5 million fund to encourage women entrepreneurs to start up new businesses. Chief Secretary to the Treasury Yvette Cooper commented: “If women started businesses as the same rate as men, there would be 150,000 extra start-ups each year in the UK. But many women do not get the business support they need to get started or to help their business grow. That’s why the new business support set out in the Budget is good news for the economy, as well as for women entrepreneurs.”

Overall, the CIPD welcomed the Chancellor’s low-key budget statement, which contrasts with the wealth of Government initiatives affecting employers in recent years.

Gerwyn Davies, CIPD public policy adviser, comments: "While we endorse the additional resources allocated to welfare reform and skills that build on existing initiatives, the CIPD welcomes the breathing space that today’s announcement offers to our members, who have had to contend with streams of employment legislation and initiatives in recent years – albeit many of them well received and positive for the workplace. With recent CIPD research showing a record number of our members planning to carry out redundancies in the next three months, however, all efforts now need to be directed towards optimising organisational performance and minimising redundancies so that organisations are well placed to capitalise on any recovery in economic performance.”

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