Budget at a glance

George Osborne faces an £18 billion hole that has opened up in the UK economy since November

Key points

Government spending: Further £3.5bn a year of public expenditure cuts to achieve £10.4bn surplus by 2019-20

Fuel duty: Frozen for sixth year in row

Indirect taxes: Tobacco duty to rise 2% above inflation. Beer, cider and spirits duty frozen. All other alcohol duties to rise with inflation

Income tax: Personal allowance will rise to £11,500. Higher-rate tax threshold increased to £45,000

Insurance premium tax: To rise from 9.5% to 10%. Will provide £700m boost to flood defences

Tax avoidance: Raise £12bn by preventing multinationals from shifting profits overseas to avoid tax. Crackdown on VAT evasion from foreign sellers on internet

ISAs: Annual savings limit increased from £15,000 to £20,000 from April 2017. New Lifetime ISA for under-40s – for every £4,000 saved, government will add £1,000 up to age 50

Education: Every school in England to convert to academy status by 2020. Maths teaching for everyone up to age 18. One in four schools to stay open for extra hour per day

Health: New levy on soft drinks industry from 2018 to tackle childhood obesity. £520m raised to be used to boost sport in schools

Infrastructure: Green light for high-speed trains between Manchester and Leeds, and Crossrail 2 – second cross-London rail link. Road tunnel between Sheffield and Manchester, upgrades to A6 and A69

Regions: Petroleum revenue tax on oil and gas halved to 10% – key for Scottish industry. Tolls on Severn crossing to Wales cut by 50%. Air ambulance for N. Ireland. New powers over criminal justice devolved to Greater Manchester. GLA to retain all business rates from 2017

Commercial stamp duty: Cut for small business from midnight. Zero rate up to £150,000, 2% on next £100,000 and 5% above £250,000

Corporation tax: Cut from 20% to 17% by 2020

Capital gains: Top rate cut from 28% to 20%, basic rate 18% to 10%, effective from April 2016

Business rates: 630,000 small businesses will pay no rates from next year – £7 billion tax cut for businesses

Deficit: £72.2bn. Below target of £73.5bn

157.7 136.8 115.9 121.1 103.0 91.9 72.2

09-10 10-11 11-12 12-13 13-14 14-15 15-16

Public sector net borrowing (£ billions)

Sources: HM Treasury, Office of Budget Responsibility

Picture: Getty Images