Governments come and go, but some things remain constant. The Institute for Fiscal Studies feels like a permanent fixture on the political scene.
Despite the creation of the Treasury’s Office for Budget Responsibility, the IFS remains the premier independent assessor of fiscal policy,louboutin shoes. Politicians know how important its verdict can be for both voters and (to a lesser extent) markets.
So the today was always going to unleash another round of claim and counter-claim between the Coalition and Labour. And so it proved.
At first glance, the report raises some tricky questions for George Osborne on the issue of a “Plan B†for the economy if growth is less robust than the OBR expects,Mulberry bags.
Mr Osborne is very wary of such contingency plans, implying that drawing them up could cost him credibility and spook the markets.
In fact,longchamp online, according to Paul Johnson, a failure to admit that reality may not perfectly fit the Treasury’s plans could be the real threat to credibility. Spelling out some contingency plans could reassure, not worry, he reckons.
The Green Budget says this:
“Although there may be no need to implement an alternative plan at this stage, with such large downside risks to the public finances, having alternative plans to hand could prove useful,â€.
And this:
“So all in all,cheap ghd straighteners, it appears that the authorities ought to consider, if not a ‘Plan B’, then at least the possibility that they might need to nudge the economy towards a more favourable growth trajectory.â€
Given that Ed Balls is so noisily sceptical about the Coalition plan, it’s hardly surprising that Labour has tried to make capital from the Green Budget.
Here, for instance, is Angela Eagle, the shadow chief sec to the Treasury:
“The IFS report is right to warn about the serious risks to growth that our economy faces and that without growth George Osborne won’t meet his own deficit reduction targets. It’s time he heeded those warnings and got himself a plan B.â€
Well, yes, but perhaps Ms Eagle should look a little deeper and ask: Just what would Plan B entail?
The uncomfortable truth for Labour is that the IFS is still broadly supportive of the Coalition case for trying to eliminate the structural deficit by 2015/15, and agrees with Coalition warnings that relaxing that plan could put Britain in the financial danger zone.
As the Green Budget says:
“…any substantial watering-down of the fiscal consolidation plan might reignite market concerns about the UK’s public debtâ€.
And:
“Any fiscal loosening aimed at helping the economy could be ineffective if it prompts an offsetting monetary tightening and risks undermining investor confidenceâ€.
(I wonder if this is why it was Ms Eagle and nor Mr Balls who responded to the IFS….?)
So if the economy is weaker than expected, and the public finances weaker as a result, what should Mr Osborne do?
Well, the report suggests the institute’s Plan B could actually involve more austerity, not less.
“The forecast surplus of 1.1% of national income for 2015�16 is, again under the assumptions set out above,cheap ghd, consistent with a 75% chance of there being a balance or surplus on the cyclically-adjusted current budget in 2015�16,longchamp sale. In other words, there is a one-in-four chance that additional fiscal tightening �in the form of further tax increases and/or deeper spending cuts � would be required to prevent the cyclically-adjusted current budget from being in deficit in 2015�16.â€
Alternatively, if the scale of the tightening doesn’t need to be bigger, the IFS analysis suggests that the sequencing could change, with cuts pushed back a year or two to help the recovery get underway this year.
Michael Dicks, a co-author of the Green Budget, said that “sluggish†growth should cause the Chancellor to “backload†his cuts, shifting the reductions planned for 2011/12 and 12/13 into the last two years of the spending review period.
But importantly, he said the cuts should still be made before the next election. Postponing them into the next Parliament, he said,ralph lauren sale, would panic the markets, pushing Britain in the direction of Greece and Ireland.
Plan B, according to Mr Dicks,
Note n°51
par illfrdp9633
le 29/03/2013 @ 01:47
http://www.longchamptaschen.de/
http://www.borsalouisvuittonsadli.com,louis vuitton borseUnder Internal Revenue Code Section 2035,longchamp taschen günstig, if the insured gifts a life insurance policy to a third party (such as an irrevocable life insurance trust,longchamp online shop, or "ILIT") within three years of his or her death, then the policy proceeds will be included in the insured's estate for estate tax purposes. The only safe way to avoid this result is to have the ILIT apply for and own the policy from the outset (even if done with the insured's gifted funds). Even momentary ownership of the policy by the insured within three years of his or her death will require inclusion of the full policy proceeds in the insured's estate.
New Policies
What options are available for a new policy where the ILIT has not yet been created,scarpe hogan donna? Some states recognize oral trusts, which would later be memorialized. Thus,louis vuitton outlet, in those states if might be possible to have the oral trust as the initial owner and beneficiary of the policy,Abercrombie & Fitch Milano. But, the risk with this approach is that the trust is not truly irrevocable so long as it is merely oral.
Another possibility is for a child or spouse of the insured to purchase the policy and then gift it to the ILIT once created,spaccio hogan. This approach has several potential problems. First, the donor (child or spouse) is making a gift to the ILIT with the attendant gift tax consequences. Second, if the child or spouse is a beneficiary of the ILIT, at least some portion of the ILIT will be included in his/her estate for estate tax purposes under IRC Section 2036 (transfers with a retained interest),sito ufficiale hogan italia. Finally, the transaction might be ignored by the IRS under the step transaction doctrine. In other words,Abercrombie and Fitch, if the purchase of the policy by the child or spouse and the subsequent transfer of the policy to the ILIT are determined to be integrated, interdependent and focused toward a particular result,Avoiding the Three Year Life Insurance Transfer Rule,Abercrombie, then under the step transaction doctrine,louis vuitton sito ufficiale, the two steps would be collapsed together. As such, the insured would be treated as having made the gift to the ILIT. This might be the case if the insured provided the funds for the child or spouse to purchase the policy or if the two transactions were close in time.
Another often-used technique is to apply for the insurance in the insured's name and then withdraw the first application and replace it with an application showing the ILIT as the initial owner. So long as the first application was not accompanied by any consideration,Abercrombie outlet, it would not be a binding contract and the insured would not be treated as having any incidents of ownership over the policy. Without any incidents of ownership vesting in the insured,taschen longchamp, the three-year rule would not apply,taschen von longchamp.
Existing Policies
How can the three-year rule be avoided for an existing life insurance policy? The three-year rule of IRC Section 2035 only applies to gratuitous transfers. It does not apply to a bona fide sale of a life insurance policy for full and adequate consideration,Avoiding the Three Year Life Insurance Transfer Rule,longchamp. IRC Section 2035(b). Thus,
Note n°50
par toddrqy7583
le 29/03/2013 @ 01:47
http://www.longchamptaschen.de/
http://www.borsalouisvuittonsadli.com,louis vuitton borseST. GEORGE'S,Abercrombie outlet, Grenada: Johnson Charles blazed a second consecutive century and Darren Bravo made a maiden limited overs ton as the West Indies routed Zimbabwe by 156 runs to win the first One-day International on Friday,louis vuitton portafogli.
Man of the match Charles hammered 130 and Bravo finished on an even,longchamp shop, unbeaten 100 to lead the home side to an imposing 337 for four after being put in by Zimbabwe skipper Brendan Taylor,scarpe hogan interactive.
While there was nothing like the capacity crowd that would have been hoped for on a day declared a national holiday by the newly-elected government of the island, the fans who turned up on a sunny Caribbean day stayed in a celebratory mood throughout.
The visitors were limited to just 181 for nine in reply, home spinner Sunil Narine leading the bowling effort with three for 28,spaccio hogan.
Just the sixth West Indian to compile consecutive one-day centuries,louis vuitton borse, Charles,Abercrombie Milano, who closed off the series in Australia less than two weeks ago with a maiden hundred, picked up from where he left off,handtasche longchamp, his innings occupying 113 deliveries and decorated with 12 fours and four sixes,Abercrombie.
He gave the home side the ideal start in an opening partnership of 168 with Kieran Powell, who contributed 79 before falling to medium-fast bowler Chris Mpofu in the 29th over.
"I like to play my strokes,Abercrombie Sito Ufficiale, but my role is to give the team a good start," said Charles,Charles leads WI to Zimbabwe rout,Abercrombie & Fitch Milano.
"I must also acknowledge Powell's role in helping us to hit our targets at the start and setting it up for the others to follow,hogan outlet."
After a comparatively slow start,louis vuitton outlet, Bravo got into his stride by the time he reached the 40s, accelerating following the dismissal of the opening batsman in the 39th over - near the end of the batting power-play - to completely dominate the rest of the batting effort,abercrombie saldi,Charles leads WI to Zimbabwe rout.
Andre Russell,taschen von longchamp, promoted up the order, and skipper Dwayne Bravo, leading the team instead of the rested Darren Sammy,longchamp, fell cheaply,scarpe hogan.
But Ramnaresh Sarwan did what was required at the end,taschen longchamp, feeding the younger Bravo most of the strike to allow the classy left-hander to reach a maiden ODI hundred.
"We built pressure and then released it by bowling a boundary ball," admitted Taylor,Charles leads WI to Zimbabwe rout.
"Our fielding was fairly sloppy, but we pulled it back a little towards the end when it looked as if they might have gotten up to 350-370,collezione hogan."
Faced with such a formidable target, Zimbabwe went off-course from the outset in slipping to 34 for four by the 11th over,