The main points of Chancellor Gordon Brown's 2002 BudgetTax
1p in the pound increase in National Insurance contributions on earnings above �4,615Freeze on road taxFreeze on petrol duty6p on a packet of 20 cigarettesFreeze on beer, spirits and wine dutyDuty halved for small brewers - equivalent of 14p off a pint in time for this summer's World Cup Increase in tax on alcopops to the same rate as spiritsBingo exempted from taxHealth spending
43% rise in NHS spending over next five years - equivalent of �40bnHealth spending to increase by 7.4% a yearExtra �1bn in 2002/3 for NHS through cash savings elsewhereCommitment to continue funding NHS out of general taxation Social insurance and other alternative methods of funding ruled outNHS reform
Annual report to parliament by independent NHS auditor, for the first timeLocal reports showing how health money has been spentMore choice for patientsNew financial incentives for hospitals to improve performanceEducation
Direct payments to secondary schools to go up to �114,000 this yearDirect payments to primary schools to go up to �39,300 this yearCrime
�280m extra for fight against crimeFamilies
�2.5bn extra for working familiesNew Child Tax Credit will be available right up the income scaleIt will come into effect in 2003Families with annual incomes of �58,000 or below will receive helpFor the first year of a child's life families earning up to �66,000 will also receive helpChild credit will increase in line with earnings for rest of parliamentParents will receive �54.25 a week for the first child and �92.75 for two child familyFamilies with two children earning up to �35,000 to get up to �50 a week to help with childcare costsSingle working people and the disabled
Working Families Tax Credit extended to single peopleThis means tax credits for couples without childrenWorking single parents to be guaranteed �179 a week and extra help with childcareMinimum income for working families of �237 a week Working disabled single people guaranteed �194 a weekPensions
Basic state pension increased by �3 a week for single OAPs and �4.80 for couples Five million pensioners to gain from Pension Credit of about �400 a year
Elderly taxpayers will be able to set the first �6,010 of income against tax, and �6,740 if 75 or overOther measures
Tax breaks for amateur sports clubsReview of tax rules for foreign domiciled individuals living in the UK Tax avoidance loopholes on stamp duty closed Tax royalty on North Sea Oil to be abolished Better capital allowances for oil industry accompanied by a 10% increase in tax on profits to 40%The unemployed
New measures to help long-term unemployed Extending "step up" scheme for unemployedThe environment
Road tax cut for least polluting cars and motorbikes Cut of �55 in licence fee for least polluting vans Green power stations exempted from climate change levy Business
Small companies tax rate cut from 20p to 19p with immediate effectCorporation tax starting rate cut for small firms with profits of less than �10,000 from 10p to zeroFrom April Capital Gains Tax to be cut from 20% to 10% for business assets held for one year or more and to 10% for assets held for more than two years Extra �30m for small firms' training needs New cash to help small firms get online Automatic relief for VAT on bad debts, for small firms Automatic fines for late VAT payment abolished for 700,000 small firms Plan to extend flat rate VAT to more small firms from next April New R&D tax credit for large firms set at 25% - �400m a yearThe economyExtra �4bn for public spending next yearDebt interest will fall to �21bn this year, 2% of national incomeGDP growth in 2004 predicted to be between 2.5% to 3% GDP growth in 2003 predicted to be between 3% and 3.5% GDP growth predicted to be between 2 and 2.5% this year UK economy grew by 2.2% in 2001, slightly below the chancellor's forecast 
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