Osborne's Budget 'to fuel growth'
The key points of Chancellor George Osborne's Budget on 23 March 2011.
FUEL, CIGARETTE AND ALCOHOL DUTIES
Fuel duty to be cut by 1p per litre from 1800 GMT
Planned inflation rise in fuel duty due in April to be delayed until 2012
Annual 1p above inflation "fuel escalator" rise scrapped until 2015
Measures to be paid for by £2bn extra taxes on North Sea oil firms
VAT on fuel will not be reduced
No additional changes to alcohol duty rates
Tobacco duty rates up by 2% above inflation, duty regime to be reformed
INCOME TAX
No personal tax increases
Personal tax allowance to rise a further £630 to £8,015 in April 2012
Consultation on long-term plan to merge income tax and National Insurance
50% top rate of tax to remain but review of how much it raises
Direct tax rates to be indexed to Consumer Price Index from 2012
UK ECONOMY
2011 growth forecast downgraded from 2.1% to 1.7%
2012 forecast also down from 2.6% to 2.5%
Inflation set to remain between 4% and 5% in 2011, falling to 2.5% in 2012
BORROWING
Forecast borrowing of £146bn this year, £2.5bn lower than anticipated
Borrowing to fall to £122bn next year, dropping to £29bn by 2015-16
National debt forecast to be 60% of national income this year, rising to 71% in 2012 before falling to 69% by 2015
OTHER TAXES AND ALLOWANCES
Council tax to be frozen or reduced this year in every English council
10% inheritance tax discount for those leaving 10% of estate to charity
Rise in air passenger duty to be frozen this year
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Private jet users to pay passenger duty for first time
Inflation rise in road tax but duty for HGVs frozen
Levy of up to £50,000 on so-called "non-doms" resident in the UK for 12 years
Support for families in the south-west of England with water bills
Tax avoidance clampdown to raise £1bn this year
Production tax on North Sea oil firms to rise from 20% to 32%
HOUSING
Government-backed shared equity scheme to help 10,000 first-time buyers to purchase properties
HELP FOR BUSINESS
Corporation tax to be cut by 2% in April, not 1% as previously planned
Tax to cut by 1% in each of the next three years, reducing it to 23%
Bank levy to be adjusted so banks do not pay less tax as a result
43 tax reliefs to be scrapped as part of simplification of tax code
No new regulation on firms with fewer than 10 staff for three years
Business rate relief holiday for small firms extended for another year
New rules to require planners to prioritise growth and jobs
£100m funding for science facilities
21 "enterprise zones" to be created in England, backed by tax incentives
Reform of gift aid administration for charitable donations
JOBS AND SKILLS
Funding for 12 further university technical colleges
Extra 40,000 apprenticeships for young people out of work
Funding for 100,000 new work experience placements
PENSIONS
Accepts Hutton review of reform of public sector pension contributions
Long-term aim for £140 a week flat-rate state pension - not to apply to current pensioners
TRANSPORT
£100m for repairing potholes in England
£200m support for regional railways in England
GREEN MEASURES
£2bn extra funding for Green Investment Bank - to launch in 2012
UK to introduce a carbon price floor for the power sector
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
BBC News - Budget 2011 at a glance: George Osborne's key points
via bbc.co.uk
