Taxes and revenue

The personal allowance each UK employee is entitled to earn before income tax is levied was increased for the third consecutive budget, to £10,000, from 2014. The increase had been planned to become effective in 2015 but was brought forward one year.

Before the 2012 budget, the rate of corporation tax in the UK was 26%. In his 2013 budget, Osborne announced another reduction in the rate in 2015 to 20%. The reductions would be offset by the bank levy.

New employment allowances will cut National Insurance bills for all UK firms, and 450,000 small businesses should pay no employer NI. Tax reliefs were also announced for investment in social enterprises, and Osborne axed a stamp duty on shares traded on growth markets such as the Alternative Investment Market.^[3]

Osborne cancelled an increase in fuel duty that had been planned for September 2013,^[4] and also cancelled a 3p increase in duty on beer planned for April 2013, instead cutting the beer duty by 1p from 24 March 2013. The duty escalator on beer was also cancelled, but remains in place for wine, spirits and cider.^[5] Duties on cigarettes were unchanged.

Tax incentives were announced for ultra low-emission vehicles and for investment in shale gas.

The Staffordshire Potteries industry will be exempt from the Climate Change Levy.

Taxes

Benefits and expenditure

An additional £15 billion of investment was announced for infrastructure such as roads, railways, power stations, and major construction projects by 2020.^[6]

Cuts of around 1% were announced to many government departments' budgets, except the Department for Health and Department for Education.

The income from fines arising out of the Libor scandal shall be given to soldiers' charities. Military wages would also be exempt from limits on progression pay rises imposed on the public sector.

Spending