Achieving fairness and providing opportunity
The Government is committed to promoting fairness so that everyone can take advantage of opportunities to fulfil their potential.
Budget 2010 announces further targeted support for families and individuals as the economy recovers, including:
- increasing tax credits for families with children aged one and two, from 2012;
- continuing additional payments alongside the Winter Fuel Payment next winter, worth £100 to households with someone aged over 80, and £50 to households with someone over female State Pension age;
- a two-year Stamp Duty holiday for first-time buyers on residential property transactions up to £250,000;
- maintaining the Standard Interest Rate applied to the Support for Mortgage Interest scheme until December 2010; and
- launching the Saving Gateway in July 2010. This is where the Government adds 50 pence for each £1 saved by working age people on low incomes.
These new measures build on action already being taken, including:
- Helping 330,000 people stay in their homes and avoid repossession by providing financial support and advice;
- Extending eligibility for free school meals to primary school pupils in low income working households in England from September 2010;
The Government has said that it must live within its means, and plans to halve the level of public borrowing as a share of the economy over four years, with those on the highest incomes making the largest contribution in tax.
The Budget also announces:
- a new five per cent rate of stamp duty for transactions over £1 million from April 2011;
- freezing the threshold for inheritance tax until 2014-15;
- increased penalties for those who do not comply with tax disclosure rules, and losing tax loopholes; and
- above inflation increases in tobacco duty and alcohol duties.
This follows previously announced measures, including:
- from this April, a new 50 per cent rate of tax will apply to incomes above £150,000 and from April 2011, and tax relief on pension contributions will be restricted for those incomes of £150,000 and over; and
- employee, employer and self-employed rates of National Insurance contributions will increase by one per cent from April 2011. However, the 15 million people on incomes below £20,000 will not pay any extra National Insurance contributions.
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