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Summary of Budget 2010 released

24 March 10

The highlights of this years Budget is as follows:

  • RBS and Lloyds must provide £94 billion in new business loans - half of which must be provided to small to medium-sized businesses.
  • A credit adjudicator service to be set up to help SMEs deal with complaints and examine lending decisions to see if they are fair. 
  • The Government will set up UK Finance for Growth to help expand the financial sector. The FSA to speed up the licensing process for new banks.
  • Commits to G20 approved levy on banks - as opposed the Tories' plan to act unilaterally.
  • 50 per cent tax on bonuses over £25,000 introduced in the Pre-Budget Report has raised £2 billion.
  • Business rates will be cut for one year from October.
  • The computer games sector in Britain will receive investment. Will also set up a £35 million University Enterprise Capital Fund
  • To introduce a 50p tax on landlines to fund superfast broadband roll-out for 90 per cent of the country by 2017.
  • To double the annual investment allowance to £100,000. The main rate of capital gains tax will not increase.
  • Entrepreneurs’ relief for Capital Gains Tax to be increased to £2 million.
  • 15 per cent more of Government contracts will go to small to medium-sized businesses, many of which count the central government as one of their key clients.
  • The Time to Pay scheme for tax payments from SMEs will be extended for the whole of the next parliament.  Pledges the Government will pay 80 per cent of invoices from small business within five days.
  • 2.5p rise in fuel duty to be staggered. Will increase it by 1p in April, 1p in October with the remainder in January, at which point the Government expects inflation to be in line with the Bank of England's target of 2 per cent.
  • 50 per cent rate of income tax will come in April for people earning over £150,000.
  • The annual ISA limit will rise from £7,200 to £10,200, of which half can be saved in cash, from next month.
  • The number of civil servants in London is to be reduced by one third over the long term, with 15,000 posts relocated within the next five years to help save £11 billion. 1,000 civil servants in the
  • Ministry of Justice will be moved out of London, saving £41 million.
  • A new stamp duty holiday will be introduced for properties of up to £250,000, from midnight, to be funded through an increase in stamp duty from 4 per cent to 5 per cent on properties worth £1 mn or more from April next year.
  • Public sector pay rises will be held at 1 per cent of the next two years from 2011.
  • Budget plans will raise an extra £19 billion to reduce borrowing.

To read the full summary, please find this in our Document Library within The Hub.