Budget

Tax increases are in the air. Both the Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Chancellor Gordon Brown have given strong hints that if the nation expects good public services it should expect to pay for them. So if there are going to be tax increases where are the experts predicting they will hit our pockets.

John Whiting, tax partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, has put together 15 runners in his Budget Stakes and your bets will be welcomed on the PricewaterhouseCoopers Budget website at www.budget2002.com. Having studied the form to give his racing tips, John Whiting said:

"If Mr Brown is really going for the tax raising stakes, the form horse has to be National Insurance, with standard rate VAT coming up on the rails. Ridden carefully, these could bring him substantial winnings but he'll have to negotiate the Becher's Brook of public opinion on both of them.

"Safe bets would be the widening of the 10p in the pound income and corporate tax bands, and the likelihood that Mr Brown will leave the other income tax rates unaltered. I suspect that the going is being checked to see if it will support petrol duties rises but tobacco and alcohol duty rises should be left at the starting gate.

"Longer shots are a corporation tax rate cut and an increase in stakeholder pension limits. If you want a flutter on an outsider, try special tax relief for Golden Jubilee parties - an outside bet at 100 - 1."

Budget Stakes with PricewaterhouseCoopers current odds