Election, anyone?
Sundry Scottish thoughts to .
All Budgets are partisan: they are announced by a senior politician whose motivation, at least in part, is to increase support for his own team and frustrate the opposition.
This one, weeks from an election, went further still. Alistair Darling is not much given to public displays of louche merriment.
But even he was struggling to suppress a wicked grin as he announced a deal to extract tax from the denizens of Belize (including Lord Ashcroft.)
Other measures were deliberately designed to counter Tory policies - or to pinch them.
Or, in the case of stamp duty, both: he's removing stamp duty from houses up to £250k while walloping those in mansions.
Cue much pointing at the Tory front bench.
Holyrood powers
With regard to Scotland, there is also a bout of jousting between the UK and Scottish governments.
The Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy says that there will be Barnett consequentials from the Budget adding up to £82m.
Aye, says John Swinney, the finance secretary, but it's nothing like what was needed in terms of accelerated capital investment. Oh, and £6m of the new money falls outwith the discretionary powers of Holyrood ministers.
Ah, says Mr Murphy, there's to be a tax break for the computer games industry - which will potentially benefit Dundee. Yes, says Mr Swinney, the Treasury has listened at long last.
But, says the SofS, Scots will benefit from £65m worth of increased payments on child tax credits and winter fuel payments.
Fine, says the FS, but that of itself will not drive forward sufficient growth in the economy. That needs productive capital investment.
Then there's the alcohol argument. Not, for once, the duty on whisky - although that is an issue - but the continuing debate over minimum pricing, discussed in committee at Holyrood again today.
Price of cider
Duty on cider will go up, exceptionally, by 10p over inflation from midnight on Sunday.
Labour says to Nicola Sturgeon: that means you can think again about minimum pricing as low-price cider was one of the "problems" identified.
No, say ministers. The 10p increase only pushes up the price of cider by a fraction of the increase which would be enforced by minimum pricing at, say, 40p per unit.
Labour replies: the increasing duty on cider is set to continue, although probably not at this first-year level.
Plus revenue from duty goes to the Treasury, to be diverted to public spending.
Revenue from price hikes goes to the retailer.
'Unfair penalties'
Although this is a UK measure, it appears plain that the Chancellor, an Edinburgh MP, was heavily influenced by that Scottish debate.
There's more. Could Scotland gain substantially from the planned Green Investment Bank, given the relevance of the renewable energy sector north of the border?
Quite possibly, say SNP ministers - but how about those unfair penalties on Scottish energy distribution?
Election, anyone?
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