Treasury Minister Eddie Teare MHK gave his initial feedback on the UK Budget today, one that had a number of implications for the Isle of Man.

The Minister said: ‘There are no unexpected announcements on common duties, such as petrol, alcohol or tobacco, although we will gain a small amount from the increase in the rate of tobacco duty from next year.’

The Minister noted that a number of major issues were being considered by the UK Chancellor such as tax simplification and the introduction of an increased universal State Pension. He stated: ‘The Chancellor has made a number of announcements in areas such as limiting Child Benefit for higher earners, withdrawing age-related Tax Allowances, and simplifying State Pensions that we will have a close look at in light of our current priorities.’

‘Despite much lower income tax rates, there is also a significant narrowing in the gap between their proposed Personal Allowance for 2013-14 and our current Personal Allowance, which I will need to factor into our thinking for next year.’

He concluded that, as ever, there was a huge amount of detail to take in and that he and his Treasury colleagues and staff would be working through this in the next few weeks.