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3 December 2014updated 12 Oct 2023 10:56am

Autumn Statement 2014: stamp duty overhaul and taxing multinationals

The Chancellor delivered his Autumn Statement to parliament today. What did he announce?

By Anoosh Chakelian

George Osborne delivered his Autumn Statement this afternoon.

Here are the key figures he announced:

– The economy is predicted to grow 3 per cent this year, up from the 2.7 per cent predicted in the budget.

– Osborne will be borrowing £12.5bn more than forecast in the budget nine months ago.

– The deficit is forecast to rise by more than expected over the next two years: £91.3bn this year and £75.9bn the following year.

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– The Office for Budget Responsibility says the deficit will pick up and fall faster than expected in following years, hitting a surplus of £23bn in 2020.

Most of the Chancellor’s policy plans were released beforehand this week. But key announcements he held back for addressing parliament today include: an overhaul of stamp duty equalling a tax cut of £800m to come into place at midnight tonight, a 25 per cent tax on multinationals’ profits that they gain in the UK and artificially shift out of the country, banks paying £4bn more in tax over the next five years, and a new Sovereign Wealth Fund for the north.

Here’s a list of the policies he announced:

  • A “roads revolution”: £15bn to be spent on new road funding in England. This includes a 1.8-mile tunnel to relieve congestion by Stonehenge.
  • National Insurance abolished for employers that take on apprentices aged under 25.
  • Income tax threshold to increase to £10,600.
  • A new Sovereign Wealth Fund for the north of England, so that the shale gas resources of the north are used to invest in its future, and a commitment to “northern powerhouse” plans.
  • Cutting £15bn from the Whitehall budget, and the government will spend £10bn less this year.
  • Banks will pay £4bn more in tax over the next five years.
  • Freezing universal credit, working-age benefit for two years, and ending unemployment benefits for migrants who have no prospect of work.
  • Libor fines will continue to support military and emergency service charities, including buying new helicopters for the Great Western and Kent, Sussex and Surrey Air Ambulance.
  • Extend cathedral renovation fund.
  • Refund VAT for search ambulance charities and for hospice charities.
  • Extending theatre tax break to orchestras.
  • Devolution: support for the Smith Commission’s recommendations, devolving Northern Ireland corporation tax powers and backing devolving Welsh business rates.
  • Air Passenger Duty on flights for under-12s scrapped from next year, and from 2016, it will be scrapped for all under-16s.
  • Funding the NHS: a pledge to spend an extra £2bn a year on the NHS.
  • Pensions: completing the reforms already announced, bringing total savings of £1.3bn a year.
  • Repayment of the national debt incurred by fighting the First World War.
  • 25 per cent tax on profits generated by multinationals from economic activity here in the UK which they then artificially shift out of the country.
  • No increase in petrol duty.
  • A new garden city in Bicester, Oxfordshire: up to 13,000 new homes to be built there.
  • Flood defences: £2.3bn investment.
  • Helping SMEs: a near £1bn boost for small businesses.
  • Reform business rates: a review into the structure of this controversial tax on small firms. Double small business rate relief for another year.
  • An overhaul of stamp duty, coming into place at midnight tonight: allowing those buying cheaper properties to pay less and those purchasing more expensive homes to pay more, equalling a tax cut of £800m, which will benefit 98 per cent of homebuyers.
  • A postgraduate loans scheme: government-provided loans offering funding of up to £10,000.

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