1. News
  2. UK
  3. UK Politics

Budget 2014: At a glance - the key announcements

 

osborne-11.jpg
British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne holds the budget box outside 11 Downing Street in London Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images

George Osborne said his Budget would boost “makers, doers and savers”. But it was far broader than that...

PERSONAL TAX

* Personal tax allowance to be raised to £10,500 next year; £800 average savings

* Higher rate threshold for 40p income tax to rise from £41,450 to £41,865 next month and then by further 1 per cent to £42,285 next year

* Transferable tax allowance for married couples to rise to £1,050

TAX

* 15 per cent stamp duty on homes worth more than £500,000 bought through companies

* Scrapping inheritance tax for members of the emergency services who "give their lives protecting us"

* Inheritance tax waived for emergency services personnel who "give their lives protecting us"

* VAT waived on fuel for air ambulances and inshore rescue boats

* Fuel duty rise planned for September cancelled

* Stamp duty on homes worth more £500,000 to rise to 15 per cent for those bought by companies, as part of tax avoidance measures

Read more

PENSIONS AND SAVINGS

* All tax restrictions on pensioners' access to pension pots removed and tax on cash removed on retirement cut from 55 per cent to 20 per cent

* Reform of taxation of defined contribution pensions to help 13 million people from March 27

* :Abolition of 10p starting rate of tax on income from savings

ECONOMY

* GDP growth forecast to be 2.7 per cent this year, then 2.3 per cent, 2.6 per cent, 2.6 per cent and 2.5 per cent in following years - making UK economy £16 billion bigger than predicted.

* Deficit revised down to 6.6 per cent this year, and forecast to fall in following years before going into surplus of 0.2 per cent in 2018/19

* Borrowing expected to be £108 billion this year - £12 billion less than forecast

* Debt revised down to 74.5 per cent of GDP this year; then predicted to peak at 78.7 per cent in 2015/16 and fall to 74.2 per cent by 2018

JOBS

* OBR forecasts 1.5 million more jobs over the next five years and earnings to grow faster than inflation

* Welfare cap set at £119 billion for 2015/16, rising to £127 billion by 2018/19, only state pension and cyclical unemployment benefits excluded

ENERGY

* £7 billion package to cut energy bills includes £18 per ton cap on carbon price support, saving medium-sized manufacturers £50,000 and families £15 a year

* Compensation scheme for energy intensive industries extended four years to 2019/20; £1 billion to protect manufacturers from cost of green levies

LEISURE

* Tobacco duty to rise by 2 per cent above inflation

* Alcohol duty escalator scrapped

* Duty on spirits and ordinary cider frozen. Beer duty cut by 1p a pint

* Duty on fixed-odds betting terminals increased to 25 per cent

* Bingo duty halved to 10 per cent.

* 20 per cent tax relief for theatre productions

Budget 2014: George Osborne's speech - analysis, summary and reactions

Budget 2014: George Osborne's speech - analysis, summary and reactions

  • 1/12 George Osborne outside 11 Downing Street

    British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne holds the budget box outside 11 Downing Street in London

    Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images

  • 2/12 George Osborne and his team outside 11 Downing Street

    The Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne holding the budget box stands with his Treasury team (2nd L-R) Commercial Secretary to the Treasury Lord Deighton, Financial Secretary to the Treasury Sajid Javid, Economic Secretary to the Treasury Nicky Morgan, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander and Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury David Gauke (R) outside Number 11 Downing Street in London

    Oli Scarff/Getty Images

  • 3/12 George Osborne

    Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne leads his Treasury team as they prepare to leave number 11 Downing Street to pose for photographers before going to the House of Commons to present the Budget

  • 4/12 Protestors outside parliament

    Protestors outside parliament ahead of the Budget in London

    Bethany Clarke/Getty Images

  • 5/12 Protestors outside parliament

    The POA (Prison Officers Association) march ahead of the Budget in London

    Bethany Clarke/Getty Images

  • 6/12 Protestors outside parliament

    Protestors outside parliament ahead of the Budget in London

    Bethany Clarke/Getty Images

  • 7/12 Protestors outside parliament

    Kaya Mar holds a painting of George Osborne outside downing street ahead of the Budget in London

    Bethany Clarke/Getty Images

  • 8/12 George Osborne delivers Budget statement

    Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne delivers his Budget statement to the House of Commons

    PA Wire

  • 9/12 George Osborne delivers Budget statement

    Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne delivers his Budget statement to the House of Commons

    PA Wire

  • 10/12 Ed Balls and Ed Miliband listen to the Budget statement

    Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Ed Balls and Ed Miliband listen as Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne delivers his Budget statement to the House of Commons

    PA Wire

  • 11/12 Ed Miliband responds to the Budget statement

    Labour party leader Ed Miliband responds after Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne delivered his Budget statement to the House of Commons

    PA Wire

  • 12/12 George Osborne and Prime Minister David Cameron laugh as Labour party leader Ed Miliband responds to his Budget statement

    Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne and Prime Minister David Cameron laugh as Labour party leader Ed Miliband responds to his Budget statement to the House of Commons

    PA Wire

 

INVESTMENT

* £270 million guarantee approved for the Mersey Gateway bridge.

* Support to build 200,000 homes.

* Additional £140 million made available for repairs and maintenance to flood defences

BUSINESS

* Business rate discounts and enhanced capital allowances in enterprise zones extended for three more years

* Research and development tax credit for loss-making small businesses raised from 11 per cent to 14.5 per cent

* Annual investment allowance doubled to £500,000 and extended to the end of 2015

GENERAL

* A scheme to boost exports - doubling the amount of finance available to £3bn

* An extra £140m for repairs and maintenance to flood defences and £200m for potholes

* Scrapping VAT on air ambulance services and inshore rescue boats

* A five-year cap on structural welfare spending from 2015, starting at £119bn and rising in line with inflation. It excludes pensions and Job Seekers Allowance

* Reform of air passenger duty so all long haul flights carry the same tax rate as currently charged for flights to USA.

* A new "garden city" at Ebbsfleet in addition to plans for 200,000 new homes

Comments