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- Sugar tax on drinks with over 8pc sugar from 2018. A tax on the poor.
- Chunky growth downgrades. This year, GDP to grow at 2.0pc (down from 2.4pc) next years at 2.2pc (down from 2.5pc) and at 2.1pc (down from 2.4pc) in 2018/19.
- Debt target published just six months ago has been missed already because debt/GDP ratio is still rising.
- Corporation tax to be cut to 17pc by 2020, an improvement on previous 18 per cent target. About the only bit of good news.
- A mighty £1.4 billion cut from disability benefits Usually a political lightning rod.
- Under-40s to be allowed to open lifetime ISAs, with government contributing. To compensate for record-low interest rates which are crucifying savers.
- North Sea lifeline: petroleum tax abolished (easy to do, as the now-lossmaking North Sea sector isn’t contributing tax anymore).
- Extra £2.3 billion cuts but he hasn’t worked out where from. OBR says we now have £3.5 billion “as-yet-unidentified cuts”.
- Tax thresholds raised moderately, in line with Osborne’s election promise to lift the threshold for the 40p rate of tax at £50,000 by 2020.
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