The Chancellor delivers his fifth Budget on Wednesday 19th March 2014 and our live blog is the place for news and analysis on the main personal finance measures as they are announced.
Throughout the day, the Informed Choice team will be blogging with live analysis, reaction and information.
16:34 – Our free 8-page Budget 2014 Briefing Note is now available to download, providing a concise summary of the main personal finance measures contained with the Budget today:
13:29 – That’s it for GO’s fifth Budget. He finished with an absolute bombshell on ISAs and pensions. We will start preparing our Budget 2014 briefing note now and make it available for download very shortly.
13:26 – Some major pension announcements have been made. We will need some time to digest the details, but it is fair to say that this is the most comprehensive set of changes to the pension rules ever made.
13:21 – An announcement for savers. “I want to help savers by dramatically increasing the simplicity, flexibility and generosity of ISAs”, says GO. Merging cash and stocks ISA to create a single new ISA, savers can transfer from stocks and shares into cash, annual limit increased to £15,000.
13:18 – Personal allowance for income tax increased to £10,500 next year, higher rate threshold also increased, but at a rate below inflation. Married couples tax allowance rises linked to personal allowance rises.
13:14 – Fuel duty rise planned for September is postponed, which will keep motorists happy. Some extensions to gambling taxes, although Bingo duty halved to 10%.
13:07 – Annual investment allowance for businesses doubled to £500,000 and extended until 2015. This will cover the majority of businesses across the UK. Good news for business investment.
13:00 – First mention of Scotland in this Budget, with start-up support for new airline routes from Inverness. GO then moves on to North Sea Oil and Gas, with a review of the tax regime to ensure it remains fit for purpose. A sop to Scotland ahead of the independence vote later this year?
12:59 – This is a Budget for exporters, creating most competitive export finance system in Europe.
12:56 – LIBOR fines continue to be channeled to military charities, plus others including Boy Scouts and Girl Guides. Inheritance tax waived for those in emergency services who die in the line of duty.
12:55 – Stamp duty on residential property over £500,000 purchased through a ‘corporate envelope’ will be 15% from midnight tonight.
12:53 – Tax avoidance has been a consistent theme for Osborne across his five Budgets. Number of registered tax avoidance schemes has fallen by a half. New requirement introduced to pay tax upfront if a registered tax avoidance scheme is used and HMRC budget to tackle non-compliance is increased. Expect an even tougher regime for tax avoiders.
12:50 – Continued pay restraint in the public sector and “prudent management” of government department finances. The previously announced £1bn reduction in public spending is made permanent. GO describes these as “difficult decisions” to ensure Britain lives within her means.
12:48 – GO refuses to squander the hard-won gains from a growing economy. “Britain is not going back to square one”, he says. Measures in this Budget are paid for in full, so expect a fiscally-neutrally Budget.
12:46 – There have been some job role shuffles at the Bank of England this week, but GO confirms his remit for the Monetary Policy Committee, including its 2% inflation target. He wants them to be particularly vigilant about emerging risks in the housing market.
12:45 – A lower national debt means less spent on interest payments. GO explains this saves the average family £2,000.
12:42 – The OBR is forecasting no deficit by 2018/19, but only if government sticks to its current austerity plan. GO explains that faster economic growth alone will not balance the books, more cuts are needed. This is already a very political Budget, posturing for the General Election next year.
12:40 – More forecasts from the OBR, including earnings growing faster than inflation which should help to address to the ‘cost of living crisis’. 1.5m more jobs are expected over the next five years.
12:38 – A quick nod to the ongoing crisis in the Ukraine, which could result in higher commodity prices. Important to build a resilient domestic economy to deal with these international challenges.
12:37 – The OBR has revised its economic growth predictions for the UK upwards. 2.7% growth forecast in 2014.
12:33 – GO opens his fifth Budget with positive news about the economy, taking credit for sticking to the government plan and highlighting the need for more investment, saving and exporting. A Budget for makers, doers and savers.
12:30 – According to Deloitte, there have been over 35,000 tweets already about the Budget, and that is before it has even started! Twitter is clearly the place to be for Budget updates. You can follow us @informedchoice.
12:19 – As remarked a few moments ago by Paul Lewis on a special Budget edition of The World At One, this has been a remarkably leak-free Budget. That could either mean some big announcements to come or a relatively benign Budget speech. Only a few minutes to go until we find out…
11:22 – George Osborne has left Downing Street, heading to the House of Commons to deliver his fifth Budget.
10:33 – Writing in Money Marketing, Samuel Dale makes a good case for raising the 40p income tax threshold. He points out that 1.4 million more people have become higher rate taxpayers during this parliament due to below-inflation rises to the threshold. Increasing the higher rate income tax threshold would be a popular move among middle income earners.
10:12 – There is speculation Osborne will announce a new stamp duty band of 2% on property purchases between £250,000 and £300,000. This is designed to address concerns about the current sharp jump between stamp duty at 1% for a sale price of £249,999 and 3% stamp duty on a sale price of £250,000, resulting in many homes being under-priced.
09:39 – New figures from the ONS show unemployment fell by 63,000 to 2.33 million in the three months to January, which means the jobless rate now stands at 7.2%.
Another significant fall in unemployment is a sign our #LongTermEconomicPlan is working, providing security & chances #ForHardworkingpeople.
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) March 19, 2014
09:11 – It’s Budget Day! One Budget announcement already leaked this morning is the introduction of a new twelve-sided £1 coin, designed to combat counterfeiting. Reports suggest the new coin, to be introduced in 2017, will be compatible with existing vending machines and car park ticket machines, but what about older technology such as coin-operated lockers and supermarket trolleys?
Our latest Budget 2014 blogs:
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