At-a-glance guide to Chancellor Gordon Brown's 1999 Budget statement:
Taxation
Basic rate of income tax to be cut to 22p from next April. New 10p starting rate of tax to be introduced from April 1999 on first �1,500 of income. Tax on tobacco will increase by 5% above inflation, putting 17.5p on packet of 20 cigarettes. No tax rise on alcohol. Mortgate tax relief (Miras) to be withdrawn from April 2000. VAT unchanged. Insurance premium tax up by 1p from July. Capital gains tax exemption to rise to �7,100 from �6,800 from April. Inheritance tax to remain at the current rate but threshold to rise to �231,000 from �223,000. Stamp duty unchanged on homes up to �250,000 - above that up by 0.5%. Tax cut on pools will be cut by 17.5% from 28 March. Pensioner couples to pay no tax on first �15,000 of their income. Single pensioners will not pay tax until their income exceeds �5,720. No National Insurance Contribution (NIC) on first �87 of weekly earnings. NIC lower earnings limit to be aligned with income tax, a cut worth �99 a year for every worker. Extra spending
�500m for the NHS to upgrade accident and emergency departments across the UK. Further funding for public transport to be announced by the deputy prime minister. Extra �100m for inner-city schools to upgrade technology. �2,000 to every school for books. �170m for crime prevention. Extra capital spending of �50m for Northern Ireland, �80m for Wales, and �165m for Scotland. Family
National Savings to issue new pensioner bonds. Winter allowance for the elderly to be raised to �100 a year. Minimum income guarantee for single pensioners to be �78 a week or �121 a week for pensioner couples. All mothers earning �30 a week or more will be entitled to maternity pay. Child benefit will increase to �15 for first child and �10 for the second child. Child benefit will not be taxed on the basic rate or top rate. Married couples' tax allowance to be replaced with new children's tax credit. Pensioner couples to retain married couples' allowance. Children's tax credit to be worth �416 and introduced from April 2001. Environment
Landfill tax to rise by �1 per tonne per year until April 2004. Tax-free green transport for employees. Company car reform to encourage use of fuel-efficient cars. Licence fees for lorries and buses with clean engines will be cut by up to �1,000. Vehicle excise duty frozen for 98% of lorries. Vehicle excise duty for small cars cut by �55 from June. Leaded and unleaded petrol up by 4.25p and 3.79p a litre respectively, diesel up by 6.14p a litre, ultra-low sulphur diesel up by 4.96p a litre. Employment, enterprise and education
New deal to be extended to over 50s. Discount of 80% on course fees for adults improving education. Vocational tax relief to be phased out. Expansion of individual learning accounts. �20m to allow more teachers to have computers for home use. Capital modernisation fund will launch a �1.7bn computers-for-all initiative. Employees will be able to secure computers on loan from companies as a tax free benefit. Working families tax credit to be increased to �200 a week. New employee shares for all scheme. Review of competition in airports and the water industry. Building Societies and banks to be required to publish mortgage price information for first time. �100m investment in university science laboratories and equipment. �20m for start-up funding for venture capital funds. New enterprise management incentives will encourage entrepreneurs. Extending tax allowance for films made in Britain. New starting rate of tax for small businesses at 10p in the pound. Small companies tax set at 20p from April. From April, the main rate of corporation tax will reduced from 31% to 30%. Inflation
The inflation forecast is for 2.5% for this year, 2000 and the year after. The growth estimate for 1999 of 1% to 1.5% will grow to up to 2.75% in 2000 and between 2.75% and 3.25% in 2001. The current Budget surplus for 1999 is forecast at �2bn. Debt interest payments next year will be cut to �2.5bn. Your Views - Have your say on the Budget
Tuesday, 9 March, 1999, 17:40 GMT 
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