The mist clears

This year, Alistair Darling's Budget did little to encourage savings. We explain some areas of concern

The realities of the Budget are finally becoming clearer. With the Government having to raise money to pay off debt by increasing future taxes and encouraging current consumer spending, the Budget left little room for positive initiatives to encourage a savings culture at a time when it is most crucial. The tax on pension relief for high earners, an effective tax on savings, will raise over £3bn a year and has sent a harmful message about the Government's willingness to reverse positive long-term reforms and reintroduce complexity and instability into long-term savings for short-term expedi...