News

Alistair Darling delivered, perhaps, his final budget on 24th March 2010, with very few highlights.  The key points were as follows:

• 3p fuel duty rise to be phased in between April 2010 and January 2011.
• Stamp Duty has been scrapped on homes selling for up to £250,000 for first time buyers, but only for two years.
• Stamp Duty on residential property sales over £1m will attract a liability of 5% from April 2011.
• The Annual Investment Allowance for small firms, currently at 100% up to £50,000 of investment has been increased to £100,000.
• Entrepreneur's Relief, currently at 10% up to £1m of lifetime gains has been increased to £2m.  There has been no change to Capital Gains Tax rates.
• The Inheritance Tax threshold of £325,000 has been frozen for four years.