Brown's mixed budget

At last, a budget for health. Patients and families across Britain have waited years for genuinely new sustained NHS investment.

I am therefore astonished some frontbench spokesmen in Parliament are against this. NHS reform and innovation is vital, but how can they believe this is possible without investment now?

Yet I do not think this budget is perfect. Far from it. On the tax that really hits local people - council tax - the Chancellor was silent. This is such an unfair tax, I'm amazed it is only the Liberal Democrats who want to abolish council tax.

Even on the tax rises for the NHS, I have concerns.

First, why didn't Messrs Brown and Blair tell us about these at the General Election. That does not help restore people's trust in politicians.

Second, by hitting business hardest, the Chancellor is taking a risk. Given the economy's imbalances, this will not make the Bank of England's job with interest rates easier. Interest rates could go up faster, hitting families harder than the alternative of personal tax rises.

There is another "technical" but equally serious criticism: the tax changes are over complicated.

More complex tax systems push entrepreneurial activity into tax avoidance rather than building business. I've launched a new campaign, "Simpler Tax", for reduced tax administration costs. Visit www.simplertax.org.uk to see my first consultation, or contact me direct.

So, a good budget for health, but not for enterprise.