From April 2015 the personal allowance will rise to £10,500, cutting taxes for 25 million people and taking another 290,000 people out of paying income tax altogether. Rises in the personal allowance since 2010 mean that by April next year a typical basic rate taxpayer will be paying £805 less in tax than they would have been, with 3.2 million people taken out of income tax altogether.
The budget measures do not result in any additional higher rate taxpayers. The full benefit will be passed on to higher rate taxpayers – everyone earning up to £100,000 will gain equally and will pay less tax because of this tax cut.
Steve Brine said; "This tax cut is excellent news for the people I represent and I've argued passionately for this policy within Government since I was elected. It will mean lower taxes for just over 40,000 people here in my constituency with around 400 people taken out of income tax altogether as a result of today's Budget. That means a huge number of people locally keeping more of the money they've worked hard to earn which they will no doubt spend locally and that benefits us all one way or another."
The MP described Budget 2014 as 'workmanlike'; "I think the Chancellor deliberately stayed away from gimmicks and short-term announcements and focused on delivering a workmanlike Budget that is part of our long-term economic plan to give economic security to local families and relief to pensioners.
"The abolition of the 10p rate on savings income was welcome but I know the new expanded and combined ISA together with the new pensioner bond will be of huge interest to thousands of people over 65 in my constituency, many of whom have really been hit hard by low interest rates."
Mr Brine also singled out the extension of the Help to Buy Scheme, which will now run until 2020, and the expansion of the Apprenticeships Grant to help employers take on young job-seekers. He praised the range of support being made available to help local firms export to foreign markets, a measure the MP predicted would take centre-stage in this year's Budget when he addressed the Winchester business community earlier this month at the Mercure Wessex Hotel.
Finally, he highlighted a new grant scheme which will provide £20 million towards grants for repairs to cathedrals in this centenary year of the ending of the Great War. He added that he had already written to the Winchester Cathedral team to ensure they were ready to make an application.
More information ...
Full details of the Chancellor's speech to the House of Commons and the Red Book