Gordon Brown

Gordon Brown


Chancellor Alistair Darling will announce in the Budget that stamp duty will be scrapped on house purchases up to £250,000 for first-time buyers.

The policy, was first proposed by the Conservatives back in 2007, and is expected to be the main point along with phasing in of fuel duty rises for what will be the last Budget before the election likely to be held in May.

Chancellor Darling is expected to portray it as "a Budget to secure recovery and invest in the countries industrial future".

New tax rises and spending cuts are unlikely to be outlined as the Chancellor will not want to give the opposition parties any grounds for criticism ahead of the election expected to be held on 6 May.

With the latest figures showing government borrowing for 2009-10, which had been predicted to reach £178bn might be nearer £170bn, largely due to lower unemployment than was predicted.

The Treasury is refusing to comment on reports about stamp duty. But if announced it would be similar to Tory proposals for first time buyers.

On Tuesday, City minster Lord Myners said there would be measures to force British banks to offer basic accounts to every UK adult, to address what the government describes as the "financial exclusion" of poor and disadvantaged Britons.

Other predictions for the Budget include moves to force state-owned banks to increase lending by more than £80bn, a crackdown on tax evasion by wealthy investors and a green investment fund to finance projects such as wind farms and renewable energy.

There has also been speculation that Mr Darling might choose to provide extra help for young unemployed people.

The chancellor told the BBC at the weekend there would be no "giveaways" and people wanted "a sensible, workmanlike Budget". He also said a rise in VAT was "not on the table".

Labour and the Conservatives have clashed over when the government should start reducing spending to tackle the budget deficit, which is among the highest in Europe and is expected to exceed 12.5% of GDP this financial year - well above the EU target of 3%. This has caused the European Commission to openly criticise the government's plans to halve the deficit in four years, saying they were not ambitious enough.

Conservative leader David Cameron accused the government of failing the economy saying Labour had made a "complete mess of the economy and had no plans to clear it up", adding "That will have to wait until the next government,".

Mr Cameron, who has promised to hold an emergency Budget within 50 days if the Tories win power, said that only his party offered the energy and the leadership to get the economy "moving again".

Lib Dem Treasury spokesman Vince Cable was quoted by the BBC as saying "One of the key tests of the government tomorrow is whether they are willing to be specific, willing to be open about what they are going to cut."


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