Budget 2011 at a glance: George Osborne's key points

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The key points of Chancellor George Osborne's Budget on 23 March 2011.

FUEL, CIGARETTE AND ALCOHOL DUTIES

Fuel duty to be cut by 1p per litre from 1800 GMT

Planned inflation rise in fuel duty due in April to be delayed until 2012

Annual 1p above inflation "fuel escalator" rise scrapped until 2015

Measures to be paid for by £2bn extra taxes on North Sea oil firms

VAT on fuel will not be reduced

No additional changes to alcohol duty rates but 2% above inflation rise in excise duties for wine, spirits and beer to go ahead

Tobacco duty rates up by 2% above inflation, duty regime to be reformed

INCOME TAX

No personal tax increases

Personal tax allowance to rise a further £630 to £8,105 in April 2012

Consultation on long-term plan to merge income tax and National Insurance

50% top rate of tax to remain but review of how much it raises

UK ECONOMY

2011 growth forecast downgraded from 2.1% to 1.7%

2012 forecast also down from 2.6% to 2.5%

Inflation set to remain between 4% and 5% in 2011, falling to 2.5% in 2012

BORROWING

Forecast borrowing of £146bn this year, £2.5bn lower than anticipated

Borrowing to fall to £122bn next year, dropping to £29bn by 2015-16

National debt forecast to be 60% of national income this year, rising to 71% in 2012 before falling to 69% by 2015

OTHER TAXES AND ALLOWANCES

Council tax to be frozen or reduced this year in every English council

Direct tax rates to be linked to the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rather than Retail Prices Index (RPI) from April 2012, raising £1bn a year for the Treasury through increases to National Insurance contributions by employees, capital gains tax and less generous Individual Savings Account Allowances

Winter fuel payments will fall this year as temporary increase in place since 2008-9 will not be maintained

10% inheritance tax discount for those leaving 10% of estate to charity

Rise in air passenger duty to be frozen this year

Private jet users to pay passenger duty for first time

Inflation rise in road tax but duty for HGVs frozen

Levy of up to £50,000 on so-called "non-doms" resident in the UK for 12 years

Support for families in the south-west of England with water bills

Tax avoidance clampdown to raise £1bn this year

Supplementary tax on North Sea oil firms to rise from 20% to 32%

HOUSING

Government-backed shared equity scheme to help 10,000 first-time buyers to purchase properties

HELP FOR BUSINESS

Corporation tax to be cut by 2% in April, not 1% as previously planned

Tax to cut by 1% in each of the next three years, reducing it to 23%

Bank levy to be adjusted so banks do not pay less tax as a result

43 tax reliefs to be scrapped as part of simplification of tax code

No new regulation on firms with fewer than 10 staff for three years

Business rate relief holiday for small firms extended for another year

New rules to require planners to prioritise growth and jobs

£100m funding for science facilities

21 "enterprise zones" to be created in England, backed by tax incentives

Reform of gift aid administration for charitable donations

JOBS AND SKILLS

Funding for 12 further university technical colleges

Extra 40,000 apprenticeships for young people out of work

Funding for 100,000 new work experience placements

PENSIONS

Accepts Hutton review of reform of public sector pension contributions

Long-term aim for £140 a week flat-rate state pension - not to apply to current pensioners

TRANSPORT

£100m for repairing potholes in England

£200m support for regional railways in England

GREEN MEASURES

£2bn extra funding for Green Investment Bank - to launch in 2012

UK to introduce a carbon price floor for the power sector

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