09 December 2009
The Chancellor of the Exchequer set out his pre-Budget Report on
9 December 2009. Amongst other items he announced that:
- The State Pension will rise, as previously suggested, by 2.5%
in April 2010. This is despite figures showing deflation in
September 2009, the month used to determine the April increase. The
full Basic State Pension from April 2010 will therefore be
£97.65 per week. The category B pension, which is claimed
from a husband's NI record, will rise to £58.50 per week
- Pension Credit rates will also rise. The standard rate for a
single person will increase to £132.60 per week. The standard
couple's rate will increase to £202.40 per week
- The personal allowances for income tax are to be frozen. So for
the under 65s group the allowance will remain at £6,475. For
the 65-74 group it will remain at £9,490. For the over
75 it will stay at £9,640.
- National Insurance rates for those earning over £20,000
will rise by a further 0.5% from April 2011. Those earning
£20,000 or less will be protected from this rise. This rise
is in addition to the 0.5% rise due in April 2010
- VAT will go back up to 17.5% from the 1st of January 2010
- There will be a one-off tax of 50%, payable by the employer, on
bankers' bonuses over £25,000
- The Inheritance Tax threshold will remain unchanged at
£325,000
The full report can be found here on the HM Treasury
webpage:
Pre-Budget Report 2009
