THE HI-TECH INVESTOR: Net results of the Budget

This year, news organisations and financial websites spent considerable amounts of money promoting their internet Budget coverage. More low key, but at least as useful for personal financial planning, is the analysis by the large City accountancy and tax firms.

PricewaterhouseCoopers' Budget web pages (http://budget.uk. pwcglobal.com) include a commentary, reaction from the firm's partners, links to other useful sites and a Tax Datacard, which lists the new tax rates and rules.

As well as the usual reaction and comment, Ernst & Young's site (www.budgetnews.co.uk) publishes a more detailed reaction, which visitors to its website can download. There's also a copy of E&Y's year-end tax planning guide.

Deloitte & Touche's Budget section summarises the main points from the Chancellor's speech, and gives a more detailed breakdown for sections including company taxation, personal taxation, inheritance tax and employment taxes. There's also some useful information on the Budget on the Chartered Institute of Taxation web site (www.tax.org.uk).

The speech in full

Anyone who missed the Budget speech can turn to the Treasury's own web pages (www.hm-treasury. gov.uk), which has an index of news releases, a full copy of Mr Brown's speech, and an article putting the 1999 Budget in its political and economic context.

A personal view

Two personal finance internet sites with useful analysis and background are Moneyworld and Interactive Investor. Moneyworld (www.moneyworld. co.uk/budget99/) adds a personal tax calculator and tax tables to the usual news articles and opinion. Interactive Investor (www.iii.co.uk) is particularly good for investment information.

Auntie's impact

One of the best features on this year's BBC Budget site (www.bbc.co.uk/budget99/) is a ready reckoner, which works out how much a household will gain and lose. It can calculate the impact of this year's measures, and it can add changes made in previous Budgets that have yet to take effect.

Stephen Pritchard can be contacted by e-mail at

hi-techinvestor@dial. pipex.com