Re: Budget 2004
 

When I first started going to pubs, about 17 years ago, you could buy a pint for a quid £1. So you could have a good night on a tenner £10 and still have change for a kebab. Now you'd be lucky to get by on £20 just for the drinks.

Yet I don't see wages doubling over the same time.

How come electrical equipment like computers becomes cheaper over time, but drink and food gets more expensive?

I like watching 'Open all Hours' cuz you can see the old prices in the shop, love seeing items, like Mars Bars for 14p that would be 40p now.

Re: Budget 2004
 

Hmm, guess what getting a round in and getting a ten bob note in the change from a pound says about my age.

Food tends to get dearer because it has a more or less fixed production and profit margins are protected by major players in the industry. Computers, TV's etc. tend to get cheaper because of ever improving production methods and chip design. You would not believe the difference in what you would find in a 70's computer against one of today. My expansion card to go from 512k of ram to 640k had more chips on it than McCain put in a large bag of fries. :D

no rise in duty for spirits
 

no rise in duty on spirits. But a penny on a pint.

Could someone explain how the relates the government wanting to stop binge drinking?

Re: no rise in duty for spirits
 

People binge drink lager, but not whiskey
MP's drink whiskey, but not lager

Re: [Merged] Budget 2004
 

im just glad he never put car tax up...........especially to the stupid amount of 1000 quid that some mps wanted on big cars

Re: no rise in duty for spirits
 

LOL - Thats about as spot on as you can get :D

Someone rep that man :) I have not been enough of a s1ut apparently :D

Re: no rise in duty for spirits
 

I think they drink Vodka. Which I seem to have read somewhere is the drink with the highest sales.

Re: Budget 2004
 

Yes, you *could* be faced with a rise in your tax bill of almost *TWO THOUSAND POUNDS*! :mad: :mad:

That's exactly what I'm going to be stuck with because two years ago, thanks to Gordon Brown's idea for an "incentive" for small businesses, I incorporated as a limited company to take advantage of the first £10,000 of earnings being free from Corporation Tax.

Except it seems that this "incentive" is now a "loop hole" which means that I'm going to have to pay 19% tax on that first £10k.

Gee, thanks Gordon... :(

Re: Budget 2004
 

I saw that too Graham.. :mad: :cry:

He only introduced that 2 years ago and now he has taken it away.That'll now cost me £2000 too. :fit:

Re: Budget 2004
 

He's got you by the balls and is slowly squeezing

Re: Budget 2004
 

Yeah. Well I ain't consenting :(

Re: [Merged] Budget 2004
 

Re: Budget 2004
 

if your wages havent doubled in 17 years mate your in the wrong trade. Someone once told me my wages should double every 7 yrs for the first 14 working years and it was true for me.

Computers get cheaper cos they are cheaper to produce, need less people. Bit hard to make a luttuce grow faster and make it walk to the supermarket on its own!!

Re: Budget 2004
 

My wages havent doubled cuz I've only worked 5 years out of the last 17.
I've either been unemployed or doing voluntary work. Bit out of touch with how wages have risen over the years.

I still think food prices should never rise, but thats a political view more than an economic one.

Re: Budget 2004
 

food has to rise because transport costs rise.