Tax experts groaned in protest on Wednesday as the Treasury published another door-stopping finance bill, which brings into law Gordon Brown's announcements in last week's Budget. They warned that the provisions in 140 clauses and 39 schedules would heap administration on businesses.

At 488 pages, it is the third-longest in history and it does not even include some of the most significant legislation in the Budget, such as the rise in national insurance contributions and the tax credits for families and workers on low incomes. Only two of Mr Brown's previous finance bills - 1998 and 2000 - have been longer.

John Whiting of PwC said: "The only thing that keeps it bearable is the fact that we have seen a lot of it before. But for that, we'd be utterly floored."

Mr Brown's enthusiasm for using the tax system to reward deserving causes explains much of the increase in the length. The reduced rate of duty for small brewers takes nine pages; the tax breaks for community and amateur sports clubs take six pages; and tax relief for vaccines research takes 14 pages.

There are five clauses of revisions to the new aggregates levy, which took effect only at the beginning of the month. "When you are doing minor measures, you have to take into account the length of the legislation needed to enact them to decide whether they are worth it," said Edward Troup, head of tax strategy at Simmons and Simmons. "Companies which in the past have not had to worry about any special rules are now getting rules that they do have to worry about." Businesses have persistently complained that the benefits of new tax breaks are often outweighed by the increased administrative costs they entail. John Battersby, tax partner at KPMG, said: "We really need a slowdown in this torrent of legislation to provide businesses with the opportunity to assess where they are and concentrate on their business."

The Treasury was unrepentant on Wednesday. It said that the length of the bill was necessary to enact all the Budget announcements, which would benefit businesses and families, and to reflect consultation over the design of many measures.

On the basis of a few hours' assessment, tax experts found little that had not been announced last week. One detail is that clause 134 creates a new tax - the "lorry road-user charge" - which will come into effect once the government has worked out how to charge lorries for the distance they drive.

There is good news for travellers to countries hoping to join the EU: air passenger duty will be cut to £5 for economy flights from November.

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