23/03/2011

Budget To Offer £48 Tax Cut

On a mission to get Britain back on its feet, Chancellor George Osborne has outlined an income tax cut worth around £48 per year in today's Budget.

The announcement means that the amount people can earn tax free, from April 2012, will rise by £630, increasing the threshold to £8,105.

This will benefit those paying higher rate 40% tax as well as those on lower incomes, unlike the £1,000 rise in the last Budget which comes into effect next month.

In Mr Osborne's statement, he also highlighted plans to help first-time home buyers. He pledged £250m to help 10,000 first-time buyers purchase newly built flats and houses in England.

The buyer would have to put up 5% of the cost, while the government and home builder would both put up 10%, in a move aimed at boosting the construction industry.

To “dramatically simplify” the tax system, he also pledged to look at the possibility of merging National Insurance and income tax.

The move questions the position of pensioners, who pay income tax but not national insurance.

Duty on alcohol was today frozen, yet the price of a pint is widely expected to rise by up to 10 pence, thanks to an earlier announcement by Alistair Darling last year.

As of 6pm tonight, the cost of cigarettes will rise between 33pence and 50pence depending on brand, due to earlier plans to raise tobacco duty by 2 per cent above inflation.

Mr Osborne will help motorists affected by rising oil prices, fuel duty and the recent increase of the VAT rate. He announced that fuel duty will be cut by one pence per litre at 6pm tonight.

Additional sweeteners include; an extra £100m to fill the potholes, and the postponement of an air passenger duty rise for 12 months.

(BMcN/KMcA)

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