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Daily Echo: Budget 2010

Read the official documents from Chancellor George Osborne's first Budget.

Click links to download. All documents are hosted by direct.gov.uk

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Budget 2010 - at a glance

  • The Chancellor stood up to deliver his Emergency Budget at 12.33pm.
  • The Budget is tough but fair, he said.
  • The Chancellor promised not to hide hard choices from the British people or bury them in the small print.

ECONOMY

  • Structural deficit should be in balance by 2015/16.
  • Inflation target remains at 2%.
  • Growth predicted to be lower than forecast at 1.2% this year.
  • Spending reductions, not higher taxes, the best way to reduce the deficit.
  • Borrowing to fall to 1.1% of GDP by 2015.
  • UK not joining the euro in this Parliament, and euro preparation unit in the Treasury disbanded.

SPENDING

  • Public expenditure to rise from 637 billion this year to 711 billion by 2015/16.
  • No further reductions in capital spending in this Budget.
  • The Government will look at how to dispose of its shareholding in air traffic body Nats, the student loan book will be sold and the future of the Tote will be resolved.
  • Civil List remains frozen at 7.9 million for this year.
  • Government departmental spending to be cut by 25%.

PAY AND PENSIONS

  • Two-year pay freeze for the public sector, but 250 pay rise for those earning under 21,000.
  • Public service pensions to be investigated.
  • State pension age to be accelerated to age 66.

WELFARE AND BENEFITS

  • Welfare spending rises to be in line with consumer prices, not retail prices.
  • Tax credit payments to families earning more than 40,000 to be reduced.
  • Health in pregnancy grant to be scrapped.
  • Child benefits to be frozen for three years.
  • Disability benefits to be reassessed from 2013.
  • Housing benefit in dire need of reform. Maximum limits reduced to 400 a week for a house.

REGIONS

  • National Insurance incentives to companies starting businesses outside London, the South East and Eastern region.
  • Government to commit to the upgrade of the Tyne and Wear Metro, extension of the Manchester Metrolink, redevelopment of Birmingham New Street station, improvements to the rail lines to Sheffield and between Liverpool and Leeds.

TAX AND DUTY

  • National Insurance threshold rises by 21 next year.
  • Corporation tax of 28% cut next year by 1% and each year afterwards to 24%.
  • Planned tax relief for the video games industry cancelled.
  • Bank levy introduced from January to generate 2 billion a year. France and Germany agree similar action.
  • Green investment bank planned and investment in digital infrastructure.
  • Planned landline duty to be abolished and private broadband expansion to be encouraged.
  • VAT to rise to 20% from January 4.
  • No new duty increase on tobacco, alcohol or fuel.
  • Cider duty rise reversed.
  • Council tax to be frozen for a year.
  • Unfair capital gains tax reform: Higher rate taxpayers to pay 28% from midnight.
  • The 10% CGT rate for entrepreneurs extended to the first 5 million of lifetime gain.
  • Personal tax allowance raised to 7,475 from April 2011.
  • Higher rate income tax threshold frozen.

PENSIONERS AND FAMILIES

  • Lasting help for pensioners, with link to earnings restored from next April or a 2.5% rise, whatever is greater.
  • Additional support for families in poverty. Child element of child tax credit increased by 150 above inflation.
  • The Chancellor sat down at 1.28pm.

Replay our live blog below from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) as our experts assess how the emergency Budget will affect millions of consumers, employees and businesses.

ACCA experts who blogged:

  • Chas Roy-Chowdhury – Head of Taxation
  • Manos Schizas – Head of SME (Small and Medium-sized Enterprise) Policy
  • Glenn Collins – Head of UK Advisory Services
  • Henning Drager – Head of Sustainability