The Budget Statement 2014 - As it happens
As Chancellor George Osborne is set to announce his budget speech today at 12:30pm, we will be keeping you updated by announcing all of the key points in this live blog article as they happen.
We will also be tweeting key points through our Twitter account, you can keep up to date with us on twitter by following @financialuk.
If you want to find out anymore information about the Budget then you can do so by reading the following blogs:
Budget Statement 2014 - What is it?
Budget Statement 2014 - History and traditions
Budget Statement 2014 - What to expect
Pre-budget activity
The Chancellor is en route to the House of Commons (11:00am)
The Chancellor, George Osborne has already left Downing Street after posing for the press with the famous red budget box. He is now on his way to the House of Commons to make his speech
Several groups of protesters outside Westminster (11:30am)
Several groups of protesters are demonstrating outside Westminster. The groups include NHS workers and prison workers, and are waving signs such as "Shame on the Govt".
'The Prime Ministers Questions' have begun (12:00pm)
The Prime Ministers questions have begun at the House of Commons, ahead of the Chancellors speech at 12:30pm.
The Prime Minister staretd by telling MPs at the House of Commons that there has been "10 times more job creation" in the private sector than the public sector.
Ed Miliband quickly asked about the referendum in Crimea on Sunday and the Prime Minister responded by stating that the referendum was "illegitimate and illegal" and "if we turn away from this crisis and don't act, we will pay a very high price in the long term".
When mocked for the decision to increase personal allowance in successive years, the Prime Minister responded by stating: "It has been an excellent move by a Conservative chancellor in a coalition government to make sure that the first £10,000 of income you earn you don't pay tax on and that benefits people earning all the way up to £100,000."
The Prime Minister then went on to respond to questions about his plan for £2,000 of childcare support by accusing Labour of not supporting a strategy to help working families with childcare costs.
The final question of the session was in relation to the decision to increase public pay by as little as 1%. However, the Prime Minister mocked Labour by suggesting by quoting a labour comment that supported the policy, whilst Ed Milliband shook his head and smiled.
And that concludes the 'Prime Ministers Questions'.
The Chancellors speech has begun (12:30pm)
A growing economy
The Chancellor has started by stating that the economy is recovering faster than expected, and the the deficit is already down by a third. He also set the tone for the budget by stating: "If you're a maker, a doer or a saver: this Budget is for you," and that"Support for savers is at the centre of this Budget."
He has also predicted growth of the UK economy in 2014 of 2.7%, and 2.3% next year. Higher than previously forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility, meaning the economy will be worth £16bn more than previously thought.
As a result of these predictions, the Office for Budget Responsibility has now predicted a budget surplus on £5bn by 2018/19.
Pensions
Pensioners will no longer need to buy an annuity, as all tax restrictions to accessing their pension pots will be abolished.
Additionally, the taxable part of a pension pot that a retired person can take as cash will now be decreased to the normal income tax rate, down from 55%.
A more secure pound coin
The Chancellor has confirmed that there will be a new pound coin introduced in 2017 to combat forgery, as 1 in 30 pound coins are currently fake. He described the new pound coin as "a more resilient pound coin, for a more resilient economy."
Welfare system
The Chancellor has said that: "Never again should the welfare system be allowed to spiral out of control." He also said that any government wanting to spend more on welfare will have to be honest with the public.
The welfare system will now be capped at £119bn in 2015/16, whilst this will slowly increase to 127bn by 2018/19.
Increased HMRC compliance budget
The HMRC budget will be increased in order to collect tax debts from those who can afford to do so.
The Chancellor said, "We will give HMRC modern powers to collect debts from bank accounts of people who can afford to pay but have repeatedly refused to, like most other Western countries."
Property
Mr Osborne has announced he will bring an end to avoiding stamp duty by purchasing a property through a third party company.
"We are expanding the new tax we introduced to stop people avoiding stamp duty by owning homes through a company" said the Chancellor.
"From midnight tonight anyone purchasing residential property worth over half a million pounds through a corporate envelope will be required to pay 15% stamp duty."
Mr Osborne has also confirmed there will be a new garden city built at Ebbsfleet, along with new homes in Barking Riverside and a regeneration of Brent Cross.
He also claimed that his policies will create another 200,000 homes for families.
Duty
The Chancellor has confirmed that the planned rise on fuel duty in September will no longer go ahead.
He has also confirmed the duty on Whiskey and other spirits will be frozen, whilst beer will see prices cut by 1p a pint.
However, Tobacco duty will increase by 2% above the rate of inflation.
Local Councils
A £200m budget has been announced for councils to fix potholes.
Business
It has been announced that interest rates for exporters will be cut by a third, and that lending to exporters will be doubled to £3bn.
Manufacturing
It has been suggested by Mr Osborne that energy costs need to be cut for manufacturers, so that British manufacturers can remain competitive.
"We are going to have a £7bn package to cut energy bills for British manufacturers," said Mr Osborne.
Taxation
The personal income tax allowance will increase to £10,500 as of next year.
Bingo tax will be slashed to 10%.
Threshold for 40p income tax to rise to £41,865 next month and by a further 1% to £42,285 next year.
Long haul flights will now carry the same tax as it would do to fly to USA.
Savings
Cash ISAs and Stocks and Shares ISAs will be merged into a single ISA allowance. The new limit will be £15,000 when it is introduced.
Premium bonds limits will also be increased from £30,000 to £40,000 in a another boost for savers.
The 10p rate on saving income will be scrapped in a bid to help low income savers.
Need advice?
Keep following the financialadvice.co.uk blog for more information on the Budget Statement, or keep up to date with our live tweets on 19th March 2014 by following @financialuk
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