Pre-Budget Report 2009

Our Pre-Budget Report 2009 will be live on our website later this evening.

In the meantime, here are a few highlights of the Pre-Budget 2009:

• VAT will return to 17.5% on 1 January 2010 as planned.
• In April 2012, the point at which people start paying 40% income tax to be frozen for one year, hitting those earning more than £43,000.
• Employer, employee and self-employed rates of National Insurance to rise by a further 0.5% from April 2011.
• Starting point from which National Insurance is payable to be raised so that no-one earning less than £20,000 will pay any more in contributions.
• Individual Inheritance Tax allowance to be frozen at £325,000 for the next year.
• No windfall tax on banks.
• Bank Bonuses above £25,000 will subject to a 50% one-off tax.
• Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme for bank loans to small businesses to be extended for a further 12 months.
• The Time To Pay scheme allowing firms to spread tax payments will be extended for as long as needed.
• Empty property relief threshold to be extended so that 70% of all empty properties will be exempt.
• Increases in Corporation Tax for smaller companies to be deferred, leaving the 2010 tax rate unchanged.
• Super-fast broadband to be extended to 90pc of population by the end of 2017, funded by 50p-a-month duty on landlines.