Sir Paul Beresford, MP for Mole Valley, has been quick to welcome the long overdue measures laid out by George Osborne in his first all Conservative Budget on Wednesday. Some of the key details of this include the following:
- NHS: £8 billion more a year, on top of previous £2 billion commitment.
- Tax avoidance: £750 million for HMRC to go after tax evaders.
- Transport: Tax on new cars to go into new roads fund. Fuel duty remains frozen this year.
- Inheritance tax: Threshold increased to £1 million in 2017.
- Business: Annual Investment Allowance for small and medium sized firms raised to £200,000.
- Corporation tax: Corporation tax cut to 19% by 2017 and 18% by 2020.
- Welfare: New youth obligation to earn or learn, no housing benefit for 18-21 year olds.
- Childcare: Free childcare for 3/4 year olds of up to 30 hours a week.
- Welfare: working age benefits frozen for four years.
- Benefit cap: Cut to £23,000 in London and £20,000 elsewhere.
- Child tax credits: Limited to two children from 2017.
- Tax: Personal allowance raised to £11,000. Higher rate threshold raised to £43,000.
- Defence: spending to increase at least in line with inflation every year, commitment to 2% of GDP.
- Wages: Introducing new compulsory National Living Wage from next April, £9 an hour for over 25s by 2020.