Budget Summary

[Spirit]

Some of the main points:

£970 million will be allocated for shared equity schemes to help 35,000 new home owners onto the housing ladder.

Minimum wage to rise to £5.35 in October

Exemption on stamp duty raised to £125,000.

Duty rates will change from £0 for least polluting cars to £210 for the "gas guzzlers".

Increase in fuel duty deferred to September 1.

Income tax thresholds rise in line with inflation

Inheritance tax threshold to rise to £325,000

Spirits duty frozen, 4p on a bottle of wine and 1p on a pint of beer from midnight on Sunday. A freeze on duty on champagne and sparkling wine, and cider.

9p on a packet of 20 cigarettes from tomorrow

Duty-free allowance for goods from outside the EU proposed to rise to £1,000.

[Brunty]

£970 million will be allocated for shared equity schemes to help 35,000 new home owners onto the housing ladder.

• Would this be necessary if stamp duty, estate agents and house prices were reigned it?

Minimum wage to rise to £5.35 in October

• Do the pros out weigh the cons?
• About 3.5hrs a day will edge you into the tax bracket.

Exemption on stamp duty raised to £125,000.

• From £60k and about time - but probably very much out of kilter with the increase in house prices over the years.

Duty rates will change from £0 for least polluting cars to £210 for the "gas guzzlers".

• Almost inevitable - high end cars are run by wealthier folk.
• Apparently only applies to new cars?

Increase in fuel duty deferred to September 1.

• This will be an increase on the 70% or more we already pay in tax on petrol

Income tax thresholds rise in line with inflation

Inheritance tax threshold to rise to £325,000

• Anyone want to be my sugar daddy? Wildcards
• You are now worth £63 a week as a child; once you're out of childhood you'll be taxed everyday of your life and the Governement will collect on your way out too - what a life!

Spirits duty frozen, 4p on a bottle of wine and 1p on a pint of beer from midnight on Sunday. A freeze on duty on champagne and sparkling wine, and cider.

• Can't afford Champagne - I'll be in the park with my bottle of White Lightning

9p on a packet of 20 cigarettes from tomorrow

• Poor old smokers, can you even buy 20 cigarettes anymore - or is it just vending machines that charge extortionate amounts for 16 nails?
• Illegal drugs are cheaper
• Either way there is nowhere left for you to go and smoke socially

Duty-free allowance for goods from outside the EU proposed to rise to £1,000

• So now that we've sold all our major utility companies to France and Germany, sacrificed our subsidies, pay into Europe and receive much of the immigration - I'm so glad we can get even more cheap booze and fags.

[Jimbo]

Good summary, Steve

[bernmc]

And one he carefully didn't mention in his speech, but is in the small print... no more 0% Corporation tax for small businesses...

[WildCards]

Inheritance tax threshold to rise to £325,000

• Anyone want to be my sugar daddy? Wildcards

Steve, how come I get a mention in this post?

If your nice I might lend you some if and when my parents croak it, but til then...tough luck mate! cus i'm as skint as a skint thing with skint things dangling from it singing a song about skint things and how hard life is being skint!!!!