The Budget – the city's own 'swine fever'

It looks like Alastair Darling is now making a concerted effort to challenge Gordon Brown for the title of the most unpopular man in Britain! Having angered the masses by being part of the team that let bankers run amok with their money, he has now turned his attentions to the very same 'fat cats' who have allegedly caused all the problems in the first place. The 50% rate of tax on earnings over £150,000 is causing high fliers to sweat, the city's very own form of 'swine fever'.

It is estimated that over 200,000 individuals will be affected by the 50% tax bracket. Putting this into stock market rhetoric, in this period of economic stress, it would appear that the Board (the UK government) have decided that to make a cash call to their institutional shareholders (the rich) to bail them out for the good of the business (the UK population). But will this solve the problem?

Some commentators point to the fact that the Budget was great news for Geneva landlords, such will be the mass exodus of 'talent' to tax havens such as Switzerland. One could argue that losing the so-called 'talent' might not be a bad thing, but it can't be denied that this decision may result in UK PLC being less attractive for entrepreneurs and business leaders.

Only time will tell if this 'Robin Hood' style of economics will prove fruitful for the public finances, but one thing is for certain, the next couple of years will provide historians and economists with huge talking points.