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2013 Budget

21.03.13

Chancellor George Osborne yesterday delivered his annual Budget to a packed House of Commons, outlining the coalition government's plans for the finances of the country.

"This is a Budget for people who aspire to work hard and get on," started Osborne.

"It's a Budget for people who realise there are no easy answers to problems built up over many years."

Osborne admitted that there was still a lot of work left to do, and that the economy is taking 'longer than anyone hoped' to recover.

One of the hot topics of every Budget is the news on fuel, cigarettes and alcohol. Most importantly, the proposed 3p fuel duty rise in September has been scrapped, as well as April's 3p rise in beer duty which has instead been cut by 1p. A packet of 20 cigarettes has risen by 26p.

The planned £10,000 personal allowance threshold has been brought forward, meaning it will apply one year earlier than originally planned. Meanwhile, the single flat-rate pension of £144 per week will be brought forward by a year to 2016.

One of the most positive announcements by the Chancellor was the introduction of interest-free loans of up to 20% of the property value for new home buyers.

The borrowing forecasts have risen from £108bn to £114bn since December, where as the country's economic growth forecast has been halved from 1.2% to 0.6%.

Mr. Osborne's Budget speech lasted a total of 54 minutes and 30 seconds in front of a lively House of Commons. The opposition leader Ed Miliband concluded his response by saying: "Britain deserves better than this".

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