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Finance Bill

I anticipate that you would not want me to dwell on a response to that, Mrs. Heal, but I have seen a document that had a number of proposals for the west country, including one for a line from Eastleigh to Romsey, which was particularly egregious. The reaction to the VAT cut internationally has not exactly been enthusiastic. Nicolas Sarkozy has said:""Cutting VAT by two points doesn't incite people to buy if they are scared about their future."" Christine Lagarde, the French Finance Minister, said:""as far as we're concerned…we're not certain that when prices go down a VAT reduction is that effective."" Peer Steinbrueck, the German Finance Minister, said:""We have no idea how much of that stores will pass on to customers. Are you really going to buy a DVD player because it now costs £39.10 instead of £39.90? All this will do is raise Britain's debt to a level that will take a whole generation to work off."" Carsten Schneider, the German Social Democratic budget spokesman, said:""I think the sales tax cut is counter-productive."" Oliver Blanchard, the chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, said:""Temporarily cutting VAT, a measure that was adopted in Great Britain, does not seem to me to be a good idea…2 per cent. less is not perceived by consumers as a real incentive to spend.""