Chancellor George Osborne delivered his fifth Budget on 19th March 2014. Carl Bayley, author of several plain English tax guides, including the ever-popular 'How to Save Property Tax', takes a look at what the Chancellor's latest announcements mean for property investors.

Watching this year's Budget, it suddenly struck me how much similarity there is between the career of a Chancellor of the Exchequer and an actor playing the role of James Bond.

At the time of his first Budget in 2010, the current occupier of 11 Downing Street was the youngest person to hold the post since the 19th Century politician Randolph Churchill (Winston's father). Back then, one of his many challenges was to convince his critics that he had the necessary maturity for the role: just like Daniel Craig in his first outing, 'Casino Royale'.

By the time of Craig's latest Bond film, 'Skyfall', his character was being accused of being 'past it'. For Craig, this transition took only three films. As Osborne presented his fifth Budget, it was clear that the fresh-faced youngster of 2010 had also 'matured' - in style, at least. Whether he is 'past it' remains to be seen: we will have to wait until next May to find out if, unlike Craig's Bond, he has done enough to save his boss!

One thing is for sure though, with a package of measures aimed at those members of society who can still afford to save, 'Agent double-o 11' clearly has his sights on next May's vote and he has 'A View To A Win'!