Key Points of Budget 2013

Chancellor George Osborne has delivered his 2013 budget. Here are some of the key points.

Income Tax
• The tax free allowance to be raised to £10,000 in 2014, a year earlier than planned.

Housing
• Interest free loans up to 20 percent given for new mortgage lending.

Fuel, Alcohol and Cigarettes
• The planned 3p rise in beer duty scrapped to be replaced by a 1p cut.
• The planned 3p fuel duty rise in September scrapped.

Jobs
• 600,000 more jobs expected this year than at the same time last year
• Unemployment claimants to fall by 60,000.

Economy
• Growth forecast for 2013 downgraded from 1.2 percent to 0.6 percent.
• Growth predicted to be 1.8 percent in 204, 2.3 percent in 2015 and 2.7 percent in 2016.

Help for Business
• Employer national insurance bills to be cut by £2000 for every firm.
• Tax relief for investment in social enterprises.
• Corporation tax to be cut by 1 percent to 20 percent in 2005.
• Stamp duty to be axed for investments in growth markets.
• Agreements with tax havens such as Jersey to recoup £3 billion in unpaid tax.

Families
• Percent tax relief on childcare up to £6,000 per child from 2015.

Pensioners
• Cap on housing care costs confirmed
• Single flat rate pension of £144 per week brought forward to 2016.

Spending and Pay
• Most government departments to have budgets cut by one percent in the next two years.
• Schools and health services to be exempt from cuts.
• £11.5 billion further cuts planned for 2015-16 Spending Review