Airport Tax
  Banking
  Cars, Fuel and Transportation
  Charities and Donations
  Cigarettes, Wine and Spirits
  Crime
  Economic Growth
  Education
  Enterprise and Entrepreneurship
  Families and Child Poverty
  Health
  Inheritance
  Pensioners
  Regional Investment
  Small Businesses
  Stamp Duty
  Tax Cuts
  Unemployment and Benefits
  Witholding Tax


ECONOMIC GROWTH

The chancellor said the UK economy grew by 2 per cent in 1999 compared with the government's forecast made in the previous year's budget of 1-1.5 per cent. Inflation was at 2.2 per cent, in line with the government's target for the third year running. Mr Brown said inflation was lower for longer than at any time in last three decades.

The government's inflation target of 2.5 per cent would be met this year, next year and the year after, he said.

r Brown forecast growth would rise to between 2.75 per cent and 3.25 per cent this year. The forecast for next year and the year after was for growth between 2.25 per cent and 2.75 per cent.

anufacturing would grow by 1.75 per cent and 2.25 per cent this year and next.

The chancellor said social security spending was £3bn less than the government inherited.

The current surplus was forecast at £17bn this year. The surplus next year was forecast to be £14bn and £16bn for 2001-02. Debt as a share of national income will fall to 37.1 per cent. The debt-to-GDP ratio will fall to 33 per cent in four years compared with 44 per cent in 1997.

There will be negative borrowing, or debt repayment, of £6.5bn in 2001 and £5bn the year after. There will be a 2.5 per cent real growth in public spending for the next three years.
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ENTERPRISE AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Capital gains tax will be cut to 35 per cent from 40 per cent after one year, 30 per cent after two years, 20 per cent after three years and 10 per cent after four years.

All investments of more than 5 per cent in unlisted companies for more than four years will enjoy a 10 per cent rate of capital gains tax. All employee shareholders will secure all the benefits of the 10 per cent capital gains tax.

The 40 per cent capital allowance rate for small and medium businesses introduced in the last budget will be made permanent.

High technology companies recruiting essential personnel will be able to offer share option incentives of up to £100,000 for up to 15 employees.
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SMALL BUSINESSES
Consultancy and advice will be provided to help small businesses get online. For the next three years, small business information technology investment will qualify for 100 per cent tax relief.

To promote the use of the internet, the government would legislate for other incentives, including a £100 reduction for those filing tax and VAT returns over the internet.

There would also be a £50 tax cut for electronic filing for those paying the working families tax credit.

There will be two new enterprise funds to target business loans and management scholarships for high unemployment areas.
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REGIONAL INVESTMENT

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will have their own venture capital investment funds. The government announced a partnership with the European Investment Bank and the private sector with a target of £1bn of new economic investment.
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INHERITANCE

The inheritance threshold will be raised from £231,000 to £234,000. The chancellor said this would mean 96 per cent of the population would be exempt.
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WITHHOLDING TAX

From April 2001, the government will abolish the withholding tax on the interest on international bonds.
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UNEMPLOYMENT AND BENFITS

From April next year, the government will extend their New Deal to the long-term adult unemployed.

All long-term unemployed over 50 who want to return to work will be guaranteed a minimum income for their first year back - an extra payment of £60 a week for wages up to £15,000 a year.

There will be a new job grant for long-term unemployed starting at £100 as well as help with rent or mortgages.

A confidential call line will advise people how to move from away from the hidden economy of fraudulent benefit or tax
claims. Tougher rules and penalties will be imposed for those who fail to respond.

Special action teams will be set up in the areas of highest unemployment to help people into nearby jobs. The New Deal will be extended to 500,000 lone parents of children over five from next April, including a number of cash incentives for training and part-time work as well as help with childcare costs.
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FAMILIES AND CHILD POVERTY
Under changes to the working families tax credit, the eligibility threshold has been raised by 7 per cent to £214 a week from £200, from April 2000. Mothers on paid maternity leave will stay on working families tax credit.

There will also be a review of maternity pay and parental leave. The Sure-Start maternity grant will be increased from £200 to £300. Child benefits will be raised to £15.50 a week from April 2001.

The poorest families will receive a further increase of £4.35 a week, bringing the maximum support payment to £50. There will be integrated support for children to be paid directly to the mother.

A network of local and regional children's funds will be set up to support work in the voluntary sector. Next year's tax burden for the working family would be the lowest since 1962, said Mr Brown.

Children's family tax credits will rise from £416 to £442 a year next April.
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CHARITIES AND DONATIONS

Tax relief will be available for gifts of shares as well as cash donations. Ticket sales for charitable fund-raising events will be free from VAT.

The government will give 28p for every pound given to a voluntary organisation by the taxpayer from April next year.

To encourage payroll giving, the government will contribute up to 50p of tax relief for every pound given through the pay packet. Companies will receive full tax relief on the full amount of any donation from April 1.
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PENSIONERS

Old age pensioners earning less than £100 a week and pensioner couples earning less than £150 a week will receive a pension credit.

The basic tax allowance for pensioners will be raised to £5,790 a year and to £6,050 for those aged over 75. The savings cut-off limit for income suport for pensioners will be doubled from $3,000 to £6,000. The cut-off point for income support will be raised from £8,000 to £12,000. From April next year, 1m pensioners will be £20 a week better off.

Pensioners' winter fuel allowance will increase to £150. There will be a new ''affordable warmth'' programme to install fuel efficient central heating for pensioners and those on low incomes.

There will be a minimum income guarantee for single pensioners of £82 a week, £90 for those aged over 80
and £127 for married couples.
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EDUCATION

There will be an extra £1bn for education. Of this, £300m will be paid directly to schools.

There will be between £3,000 and £9,000 for all primary schools depnding on size and £30,000 to £50,000 for
secondary schools with more than 1,000 pupils.

There will be a real term increase of 8 per cent in UK education expenditure, said Mr Brown. Three times as many 16-year-olds will qualify for education maintenence allowances of up to £30 a week.
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HEALTH
r Brown said long-term reform would be backed by resources for the health sector. From now until 2004, NHS funding will grow by 6.1 per cent a year over and above inflation.

Last year, each household spent an average £1,850 a year on the NHS. This will rise to £2,800 a year.

The NHS will have an increase of £4.9bn in funding from April 1 bringing total funding to £49.3bn. By April 2003, NHS spending will have risen to £68.7bn.

Over five years, there will be a real-term increase in NHS finding of 35 per cent.
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CARS, FUEL AND TRANSPORTATION

There will be an extra £280m for transportation. Of that, £250m will go on improving roads and public transportation.

Vehicle excise duty will be frozen until March 1 next year.After that, there will a four band excise duty for newly purchased cars which will reward the most ecologically friendly cars. Under the new rates, half of new cars will pay £30 less.

There will be no real terms increase in road fuel duty. Ultra-low sulphur petrol duty will be set at 1p below other petrol from October 1.

Vehicle excise duty for 38 tonne and 41 tonne lorries will be cuty by £500 while 40 tonne lorries will have duty cut by £1,800. To help cut pollution, an aggregates levy will be made revenue neutral through a further 0.1 per cent cut in employers' national insurance. This is on top of the climate change levy detailed by the financial secretary on Tuesday. Together the measures will cut employers' national insurance contributions by £1.35bn.
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STAMP DUTY
Stamp duty on property sales will be raised to 3 per cent on property sales of over £250,000 and 4 per cent for those over £500,000. For those below £250,000 there will be no change.

The Paymaster General will investigate reducing stamp duty for development on brown field sites.
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BANKING

The government will legislate to ensure the UK bank payment system will be open to new competition. Mr Brown called on the banks and Post Office to co-operate in order to provide banking services to all. The ceiling on individual savings accounts (ISA) will be frozen at £7000 for a further year.
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CIGARETTES, WINE AND SPIRITS

The duty on cigarettes will be raised by 5 per cent above the rate of inflation, or 25p a packet. The money raised will be ringfenced for investment in the NHS.

Duty on spirits will be frozen. Other alcohol duties will rise in line with inflation with wine rising by 4p a bottle and beer by 1p a pint.
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AIRPORT TAX

Air passenger duty for economy air travel within Europe will be halved to £5 and will be abolished for flights from the Scottish Highlands and islands. There will be a new business class rate for flights outside Europe of £40 while the economy rate will be unchanged at £20.
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TAX CUTS

r Brown said he had decided on a prudent approach for this year's budget and would not make large tax cuts.
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CRIME

There will be £285m extra for fighting crime.
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For the full text of the chancellor's speech follow this link

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