Budget 2010: Tough but unfair-Guardian 24.06.10

Last week the press in the UK was full of budget speculation, so my word of the week for last week is budget. There has been much press attention to this topic since the details were officially released on Tuesday and pages of press comment have been written. Our article for this week is one of the shorter ones you will be pleased to know.
Many people have opinion on the budget and here is the Guardian opinion from today. Budget 2010: Tough but unfair.

If you want more information on the British Budget follow some of the links on this page from the Guardian.

This week's questions for this article.

1. Who did chancellor George Osborne say would be worst affected by the budget?
2. Do the researchers quoted in this article agree? Why/Why Not?
3. In the UK VAT will rise to 20% in January 2011. Compare this level of VAT with the equivalent tax in your country. Write a note to your teacher explaining the comparison. (40 words limit.)
4. Do you think VAT a fair tax to increase at a time of recession? Prepare a short presentation to present to your class on this topic. 1-2 minutes only.