John Whiting, Tax Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and a past President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, tests the strength of the Budget wind for employers and finds that there was no need to take shelter this time
Angela Lazda, tax partner at Horwath Clark Whitehill, examines whether the Chancellor's Budget will have any effect on small businesses
Christopher Sanger, Partner, Ernst & Young, and former HM Treasury adviser, looks at the business tax announcements to see how this Government's actual reforms compare to its stated policy aims
Martin Benson, Partner, Baker Tilly, discusses the ongoing saga of tax and NIC harmonisation
Peter Arrowsmith, National Insurance consultant, takes a closer look at annual earnings periods both for directors and for other employees
David Pett of the Pinsent Masons Share Plans team looks at some issues currently of interest to share plan practitioners
Jeremy Edwards of Baker & McKenzie's London Employee Benefits Group analyses the impact that human rights law has on National Insurance contributions
Jon Golding, Editor of Tolley's National Insurance Contributions 2004–05, looks at the funding requirements and state benefits connected with the payment of NICs
Samantha Mann, Policy & Research Officer for the Institute of Payroll and Pensions Management, considers some of the practical problems faced by payroll departments when dealing with NICs
David Heaton, of Baker Tilly in Leeds, introduces this special issue on National Insurance contributions