The key points of Chancellor George Osborne's Budget.
HOUSING
Up to £3.5bn of shared equity loans to help all buyers of new build homes
Government mortgage guarantee scheme will support up to £130bn of mortgages over three years
INCOME TAX
Limit at which people start paying tax to be raised to £10,000 in 2014 - a year early - an increase in the threshold of £560.
STATE OF THE ECONOMY
Forecast growth of 0.6% in 2013, downgraded from 1.2% in December.
But Office for Budget Responsibility predicts UK will escape recession this year.
Growth predicted to be 1.8% in 2014; 2.3% in 2015; 2.7% in 2016 and 2.8% in 2017.
BORROWING
Borrowing of £114bn this year, set to fall to £108bn, £97bn and £87bn in following years.
Deficit cut by a third since May 2010.
Borrowing as share of GDP to fall from 7.4% in 2013-14 to 5% in 2015-16.
Debt as a share of GDP to increase from 75.9% in 2012-13 to 85.1% in 2015-16.
INFLATION
2% Bank of England target to stay in place.
Bank remit to be changed to focus on growth as well as inflation.
HELP FOR BUSINESS
Corporation tax to be cut by 1% to 20% in 2015.
Government procurement from small firms to rise fivefold.
Tax relief for investment in social enterprises.
Stamp duty axed on shares traded on growth markets like Aim.
TAX AVOIDANCE
Tax avoidance and evasion measures, including agreements with Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey, to enter tax information exchanges with the UK that will significantly increase the amount of information automatically exchanged on potentially taxable income, in order to identify
and tackle evasion, aimed at recouping £3bn in unpaid taxes.
In addition, the government will remove the presumption of self-
employment for limited liability partnership (LLP) partners, to tackle the disguising of employment relationships through LLPs and counter the artificial allocation of profits to partners (in both LLPs and other partnerships) to achieve a tax advantage.
The measures will in total raise over £4.6bn in new revenue over the next five years.
PENSIONERS
Single flat-rate pension of £144 a week brought forward a year to 2016. This will end contracting out of the State Second Pension, so that everyone will pay the same rate of national insurance contributions and build up access to the same single-tier State Pension
Cap on social care costs confirmed at £72,000.
£5,000 payments for those who lost money in Equitable Life collapse.
To read the speech in full, click HERE
