Simon Barnes comments:

My first reaction is that this is a very neutral budget, at least for prime central London property. However, I do feel that it is really positive that the talk (if not the threat) of mansion tax is receding, and there was no additional talk about Stamp Duty, both of which have caused instability and uncertainty in London, and not just in the prime market.

For people who want to live in London and get on the property ladder the assistance with the help-to buy ISA can only be a good thing, and I welcome it. London will continue to thrive only if our own young people can afford to live in it.

One thing which attracted my attention was the Budget commitment to 100% ultra-fast broadband for the whole country. I hope that this benefits people who work from home outside our big cities because they cannot afford to live in them. However, I do hope that the government commits the same level of service to inner city residential and business areas as well. It is difficult to understand why, for example, many parts of Mayfair lack a decent phone signal (3G or 4G) and the wi-fi and broadband speeds are ridiculously slow and unreliable for a business area in what is known as the financial capital of the world.

To see full article (in Arabic) in Ashwaq Al Aswat , please click here