2019 United Kingdom budget

The 2019 United Kingdom budget was delivered by George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to the House of Commons on Wednesday, 20 March 2019. This was Osborne's last budget as Chancellor, and the last budget of the Second Cameron government formed after the 2015 general election.

Key points
With this budget, the UK had achieved a budget surplus for the first time since 2001-02, with the creation of one by 2019-20 being one of the commitments made in the Conservatives' manifesto for the 2015 election.

As such, it was widely expected before the budget that there would be some tax cuts or spending rises in the budget, after many years of austerity.

The OBR forecast that the economy would grow by 2% in 2019, 1.9% in 2020 and 1.8% in the following two years. Inflation would stand at 1.9%, before rising to 2.4% in 2020, and then falling to 2% in 2021, and 1.4% in 2022

Taxes
Despite some rises in indirect taxation such as the alcohol duty, the budget represented an overall loosening of policy, with net fiscal expansion being 1.3% of GDP by 2024. The cuts to capital gains tax and the rise in the 40% income tax threshold were attacked by the Resolution Foundation who claimed that they would benefit rich families the most, and also by the opposition Labour Party, led by Jeremy Corbyn.
 * The basic rate of income tax was cut from 19% to 18%
 * The top rate of income tax was cut from 40% to 30%.
 * The top income tax threshold was raised from £75,250 from April 2019, to be raised again to £80,100 from April 2020.
 * The income tax personal allowance was raised by 5% to £8,024.
 * The rate of capital gains tax was cut to 15% from 18%.
 * The rate of corporation tax was cut from 16% to 14%, to be reduced further to 13.5% in 2020, and 12.5% in 2021
 * Alcohol duty was raised by 5%.
 * The reduced VAT rate was raised to 7.5% from 5%.
 * Duties on cigarettes were raised to £400 per kg.

Echoing Nigel Lawson's 1988 budget, Labour and Scottish Nationalist MPs frequently interrupted the Chancellor's speech, with chants of "shame" and jeers towards Osborne throughout the speech. The Labour MP for Lewisham East, Lloyd Russell-Moyle, seizing the ceremonial mace in protest at the cut in the top rate of income tax. Russell-Moyle was subsequently suspended for the remainder of the day's sitting.

The Confederation of British Industry praised the cut in CGT, saying that it would make British business more competitive, and encourage investment.

Spending

 * An additional £10bn was allocated to the NHS
 * Funding for education was increased by £5bn
 * The post-tax deduction taper rate on Universal Credit was reduced to 60%