Osborne's budget statement to parliament

LONDON (Reuters) - Following are highlights from Chancellor George Osborne's budget statement to parliament on Tuesday.

STATE PENSION:

"From April next year we will re-link the basic state pension to earnings."

"They will also be protected by our new triple lock which will guarantee each and every year a rise in the basic state pension in line with earnings, prices or a 2.5 percent increase -- whichever is the greater."

INCOME TAX ALLOWANCE

"In the current system, everyone under the age of 65 is eligible to a tax-free personal allowance of 6,475 pounds ... we will increase this personal allowance by 1,000 pounds in April."

COUNCIL TAX:

"We will offer a deal to local authorities in England. If you can keep your cost increases low, then we will help you to freeze council tax for one year from next April."

CAPITAL GAINS TAX:

"Low and middle income savers who pay income tax at the basic rate make up over half of all capital gains taxpayers. They will continue to pay tax on their capital gains at 18 percent. From midnight, taxpayers on higher rates will pay 28 percent on their capital gains.

"It is revealing that the great majority of the almost 1 billion pounds of extra receipts we expect to see as a result of this change will come from additional income tax payments."

INSURANCE PREMIUM:

"In line with the increase in the main rate of VAT, the higher rate of insurance premium will also rise from 17.5 to 20 percent, while the standard rate will increase from 5 to 6 percent."

DUTIES:

"My Budget today includes no new increases in duties on alcohol, tobacco or fuel."

"We have decided to reverse the previous Government's plan to increase the duty on cider by 10 percent above inflation and the reduction will come into effect at the end of this month."

VALUE-ADDED SALES TAX

"On 4th January next year, the main rate of VAT will rise from 17.5 to 20 per cent ... This single tax measure will by the end of this Parliament generate over 13 billion pounds a year of extra revenues."

LANDLINE DUTY:

"I am happy to be able to abolish this new duty before it is even introduced. Instead, we will support private broadband investment, including to rural areas, in part with funding from the Digital Switchover under-spend within the TV Licence Fee."

BANK LEVY:

"From January 2011, we will introduce a bank levy. It will apply to the balance sheets of UK banks and building societies, and to the UK operations of banks from abroad.

"There will be deductions for Tier one capital and insured retail deposits, and a lower rate for longer maturity funding. Smaller banks with liabilities below a certain level will not be liable for the levy.

"Once fully in place, we expect the levy to generate over 2 billion pounds of annual revenues."

VIDEO GAMES TAX:

"We will not go ahead with the poorly-targeted tax relief for the video games industry. There will be a small reduction in the rates for capital allowances, which will remain broadly in line with economic depreciation."

CORPORATION TAX:

"Next year we will cut corporation tax by one percent to 27 pence in the pound. The year after we will cut it again by one percent. And again the year after, and again the year after that. Four annual reductions in the rate of corporation tax that will take it down to just 24 percent."

WELFARE CUTS:

"Measures to control the costs of welfare will save the country 11 billion pounds by 2014-15."

PENSION AGE:

"The Government will also accelerate the increase in the state pension age to 66."

WELFARE PAYMENTS:

"From next year, with the exception of the state pension and pension credit, we will switch to a system where we up-rate benefits, tax credits and public service pensions in line with consumer prices rather than retail prices.

"The consumer price index not only reflects everyday prices better, it is of course now the inflation measure targeted by the Bank of England. This will save over 6 billion pounds a year by the end of the Parliament."

PAY FREEZE:

"The Government is asking the public sector to accept a two-year pay freeze."

DEPARTMENTAL CUTS:

"The Budget figures imply that other departments will face an average real cut of around 25 percent over four years."

SPENDING REVIEW:

"Final departmental settlements, and the final split between departmental expenditure and annually managed expenditure on welfare, will be set in the spending review ... it will be presented on Wednesday 20th October."

SELLING GOVT ASSETS:

"We will look at how to dispose of our shareholding of NATS, the air traffic control services."

EXPENDITURE CUTS:

"Compared to the plans set out by the previous Government, I am announcing today additional current expenditure reductions of 30 billion pounds a year by 2014-15."

CAPITAL SPENDING:

"There will be no further reductions in capital spending totals in this Budget."

PUBLIC SECTOR NET BORROWING:

"As a result of the measures I will announce today, public sector net borrowing will be: 149 billion pounds this year, falling to 116 billion pounds next year, then 89 billion pounds in 2012-13, and then 60 billion pounds in 2013-14.

"By 2014-15 borrowing reaches 37 billion pounds, exactly half the amount forecast in the March Budget. In 2015-16, borrowing falls further to 20 billion pounds."

BORROWING AS SHARE OF GDP:

"As a share of the economy, borrowing will fall from 10.1 percent of GDP this year to just 1.1 percent in 2015-16."

GDP FORECASTS:

"Growth in the UK economy for the coming five years is estimated to be: 1.2 percent this year and 2.3 percent next year. Then 2.8 percent in 2012 followed by 2.9 percent in 2013. Then 2.7 percent in both 2014 and in 2015."

GLOBAL DEMAND:

"The view of the international community was clearly expressed at the latest G20 meeting, and we will be taking the same message to the G20 summit in Toronto this weekend. Surplus countries should do more to support global demand."

DEFICIT:

"The formal mandate we set is that the structural current deficit should be in balance in the final year of the five-year forecast period, which is 2015-16 in this Budget.

"In order to place our fiscal credibility beyond doubt, this mandate will be supplemented by a fixed target for debt, which in this Parliament is to ensure that debt is falling as a share of GDP by 2015-16."

INTEREST RATES:

"Market interest rates for Britain have fallen over the last seven weeks, while those of many of our European neighbours have risen. Those lower market interest rates are already supporting our recovery."

SOVEREIGN DEBT:

"Fear about the sustainability of sovereign debt is the greatest risks to the recovery of European economies."