TAX

Paul Draper, Senior Tax Partner, Unity Accountants, Clive Street Bolton.

"Gordon Brown has done a lot of tinkering to the capital allowances system, but everything is taken back elsewhere. The cutting of the income tax basic rate by 2p is obviously a headline-grabber, but the scrapping of the 10p lower rate more than cancels out this benefit to the more poorly-paid. Since this Government introduced the lower rate to help lower-paid people in the first place, there does not seem to be a great deal of logic in it."

PERSONAL FINANCE

Deborah Dunleavy, Director, Sterling Financial Advice, Market Place, Westhoughton.

"I suspect this is a pre-election budget, as most of the measures come into force a month or so before the next potential election in 2009. The rise in tax-free pensioners' allowances is welcome, because they were suffering, but we are disappointed about ISAs. There is no mention of equity ISAs, just cash ISAs, and this is the first tax free allowance rise since 1999, so from £3,000 to £3,600 is nothing, really."

BIG BUSINESS

Ian Smethurst, corporate tax expert, CLB Coopers, Chorley New Road, Bolton.

"With the cut in large companies' corporation tax but an increase for smaller firms, big businesses will be pleased that smaller firms are being asked to shoulder some of the tax burden. Large firms are re-establishing themselves offshore, so the tax take is being reduced. This will maybe tempt some of them to think twice before leaving, and it will address some of the tax avoidance issues that small business owner-managers take advantage of."

INVESTMENTS

Stephen Mallard, Pensions & Investments expert, CLB Coopers, Chorley New Road, Bolton.

"Nothing exciting here. The rise in cash ISA allowances is welcome, but it is the first increase since their introduction in 1999, so £600 more is not much. It would have been nice to se them keep pace with inflation, but that was not going to happen.

"Again, you have to say that the £6 billion increase for the pot to help employees of insolvent companies is good news, although it only meets them half way."

SMALL BUSINESS

Gary Lovatt, managing director, Moorish Idol Marketing, The I-zone, Bolton.

"The greater clues for businesses appear to be in what hasn't been mentioned, such as National Insurance contributions.

"While the cut from 22 per cent to 20 per cent in income tax appears positive for the masses, the removal of the 10 per cent threshold actually leaves a low income earner worse off than before, also affecting small business owners who take a lower basic pay plus a dividend."