Budget 06: The main points
All the main announcements in this year's Budget
Chancellor Gordon Brown announced the following in his tenth Budget:
- Inflation is at 2% chancellor confirms
- Growth is to be 2-2.5% and 3-3.25% by 2008
- Interest rates at lowest for 40 years and averaged 5% since 1997
- New remit for debt management office
- Official statistics to be under an independent board
- Public sector pay settlements to average 2.25%
- Exports to rise by 5-5.25%
- UK now second only to US on income per head measurement among G7 countries
- Golden rule met by margin of £16bn
- Total net investment is £26bn this year – £6bn in schools this year
- Debt will be 38% of income over three years
- Public sector investment to grow from £26bn this year to £63bn in 2010-11
- Expanding R&D tax credit for small businesses
- Corporate tax to be ‘internationally competitive’
- Enterprise capital funds to be launched
- Some 2.4 million jobs created since 1997
- New energy and environment institute to be launched with £1bn backing
- £20m for enterprise capital fund for environment
- New labelling system for energy efficiency goods
- Some 250,000 homes to be helped with insulation
- Help to make wind turbines for schools and other public buildings
- Zero rate excise duty for smallest cars, with £40, £120, £125, £195 and £210
bands so 3 million motorists will pay £100 or less - Fuel duty to rise with inflation, but deferred til September 1
- Child tax credit ‘wipes’ out tax for millions of families and raised by 14%
over three years - Child benefit raised to £17.45 per week from April
- Child trust funds to receive extra cash when child is seven
- Corporation tax rate to remain unchanged
- Freeze duty on whisky and on cider but 4p extra on bottle of wine
- Raise exemption on stamp duty to £125,000 from £120,000
- The 2012 Olympics: £200m matched by £100m in sponsorship and £300m from
National Lottery - Annual national competitions in Olympic sports for schoolchildren
- Some £34m for new sports foundation
- New office in Treasury for faith and non-faith charities
- Tote to be sold off
- To improve pupil-teacher ratios average investment per pupil to rise – by
2011 over £1,000 per pupil through £34bn extra investment in schools over 3
years - Free national bus travel for pensioners and disabled people at cost of £250m
- Increases in cash for headteachers to recruit more teachers