Budget 2010: how it affects you
Updated on 24 March 2010
Channel 4 News has been looking through the chancellor's speech with personal finance expert Jasmine Birtles to see how it affects you.
First-time buyers
Good news for first time buyers. The stamp duty threshold on homes doubles, up from £125,000 to £250,000.
But personal finance expert, Jasmine Birtles, believes buyers are still struggling to get a mortgage at the moment: "Unless you have an excellent credit history, a really large deposit (at least 20 per cent) and a regular, strong income it's very difficult to get a mortgage."
This increase will funded by an increase in stamp duty on properties worth more than £1m from April 2011. "Now there is more reason for the very rich to leave the country", says Birtles. "Wealth does trickle down so that could actually harm the economy."
There is also help for unemployed home owners. They get another six months of mortgage support.
Accounting for the "un-banked"
The chancellor has given a guarantee that everyone will have access to a bank account. The aim is to fight financial exclusion.
There are 1.75m adults in the UK who do not have a traditional bank account, more than half of whom are among the poorest fifth of the population, according to the treasury.
Basic bank accounts enable people to set up direct debits and allow wages and benefits to be paid in to it.
But, according to Birtles, it's not all good news: "I'm sure banks will put the cost of the new accounts on to everybody else. It's another move towards the end of free banking."
However, the banking industry says it already offers everyone access to a basic bank account, providing they can prove their identity.
The British Bankers' Association said: "Everybody can have a bank account if they want one, unless, and this is rare, the law says they can't.
Saving and benefits
There is a new annual ISA limit. It rises from £7,200 to £10,200. As well as the phasing out of personal tax allowance for those earning more than £100,000.
Taxpayers have known about this for a while but nevertheless Birtles welcomes the move: "Savers have had a tough time over the last couple of years. It seems that those who have been sensible - who have worked and saved hard - have been penalised.
"The ISA limit going up is a very good thing. It was a nice little bonus to find out that it will continue to go up for the next three years in line with inflation. But I think savers still need a lot more help and encouragement."
The bitter taste of hike on cider
Once again, alcohol is targeted. Duty on beer, wine and spirits will rise by 2 per cent. But cider will go up by whopping 10 per cent from midnight on Sunday. That's around 9p a bottle.
"This was one of the few laughs in the budget", says Birtles. "It's the first time I've ever heard cider being picked out.
"The general feeling is that if alcohol is hammered by taxes even more then pubs and restaurants will suffer even more."
Within minutes a Facebook campaign was set up. It's called Leave Our Cider Alone, and had a thousand followers in the first couple of hours it was created.
BBC presenter Richard Bacon quipped on Twitter: "Help bring down the deficit. Drink lots of cider."
