
Budget 2014 sets out the next steps in the Government's long-term economic plan. It announces further detail on reducing the deficit and debt beyond the present Parliament, including setting the level of the welfare cap and controlling the cost of public sector pay and pensions. The Budget is fiscally neutral, confirms that Government departments remain ahead of their consolidation targets and that recent pay review body recommendations will be limited to 1% in 2014-15. Budget 2014 announces further reforms to capital allowances, energy and housing to support investment and the recovery. Policies include: doubling the annual investment allowance to £500,000 until the end of 2015; £140 million to repair flood defences and £200 million for a pothole challenge fund; support for new technologies, use of Big Data; action to boost housing supply, creating a £500 million Builders Finance Fund to provide loans to SME housing developers; an urban development corporation for a new garden city in Ebbsfleet; reduce energy costs for business. Fairness measures include a major reform to the way people access their pensions, abolishing the effective requirement to buy an annuity (outlined in Cm. 8835, ISBN 978101883528, published alongside the Budget). A new ISA is to be introduced with a raised annual limit of £15,000 and new pensioner bonds will be issued by NS&I. The income tax personal allowance will rise to £10,000 in April 2014. Annexes cover the welfare cap, the long-term debt challenge, financing, and the OBR's forecast. And a new and highly secure £1 coin will be introduced.
Page Count:
124
Publication Date:
2014-03-19
ISBN-10:
0102988110
ISBN-13:
9780102988116
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