Earning our way out of recession: Budget at a glance

HEADLINES

• Income tax threshold raised by £1,000, meaning an extra £346 a year for basic rate taxpayers with two million people relieved of paying any income tax

• Corporation tax cut by 2% to 24% by April 1 and will drop further by 2014

• Rise in stamp duty to 7% for homes worth over £2m

• 50p income tax rate to be reduced to 45p and tax loopholes to be closed

• Child benefit threshold raised to £50,000

• Retirement age could rise above 70 much earlier than planned

• £100m promised to improve accommodation for armed forces personnel

• 37p extra on price of a packet of 20 cigarettes

OTHER POINTS

• The Office of Budget Responsibility expects UK to avoid recession and is revising growth forecast for this year up to 0.8%.

• Inflation forecast to fall from 2.8% this year to 1.9% next year.

• Unemployment expected to peak at 8.7% this year.

• Borrowing forecast to fall from £126 billion this year - £11 billion less than forecast in Autumn Statement - to £21 billion by 2016/17.

• Cost of operations in Afghanistan to be £2.4 billion less than expected. Extra £100 million to be spent on armed forces accommodation.

• State pension age to be automatically reviewed to ensure it keeps up with growing longevity.

• Consultation to be held on offering gilts - Government bonds - with maturity terms of more than 50 years.

• “Major package of tax changes” to boost oil and gas extraction in North Sea, and £3 billion new field allowance west of Shetland.

• Tax credits for video games, animation and TV production in the UK.

• Funding for faster broadband in UK’s 10 largest cities.

• Legislation for relaxed Sunday trading laws on eight Sundays during Olympics and Paralympics, starting July 22.

• Reform of tax system for small firms and review of VAT.

• Simplification of tax system for pensioners.

• Single-tier state pension to be introduced - estimated to be £140.

• Personal tax statement will explain how taxation is spent.

• Headline rate of corporation tax to be cut further from next month by one percentage point - to 24%. Future cuts to go ahead as planned.

• Bank levy to be increased to 0.105% from next January, raising £2.5 billion a year.

• No change in alcohol duty.

• Duty on all tobacco products to rise by 5% above inflation from 6pm tonight - 37p on a packet of cigarettes.

• New duty on gaming machines.

• Changes to taxation on gambling firms, imposing tax at the place of consumption to discourage online gambling moving offshore.

• Fair fuel stabiliser means above-inflation rises in fuel duty will return only if price of oil falls below £45 a barrel.

• Vehicle excise duty to rise by rate of inflation. Duty frozen for road hauliers.

• Government to consult on anti-tax evasion rules.

• Stamp duty charge on properties above £2 million through a company to rise immediately to 15%.

• Stamp duty rate of 7% on properties worth more than £2 million.

• 50p tax rate raised £1 billion - a third of the amount forecast.

• Top rate to be reduced from 50p to 45p from April 2013.

• Changes to taxation mean the Treasury will receive “five times more money each and every year from the wealthiest in our society”.

• Child benefit to be reduced incrementally when one member of household earns more than £50,000. Child benefit will be removed completely at £60,000.

• Personal tax allowances to rise by £1,100 from next April. Tax-free allowance to rise to £9,205, making 24 million people £220 a year better off.