Budget is a Welcome Boost to Families, Small Businesses and Charities

Sandys: Budget is a Welcome Boost to Families, Small Businesses and Charities
Following today’s budget, Laura Sandys, MP for South Thanet, Sandwich and the Villages said: “Whilst last year’s budget was intended to put the country’s finances on a stable footing, today’s budget is about listening to the needs of local people, driving growth and creating new jobs.

“For us in South Thanet where wages are very low we will gain more than most due to a higher proportion of working families being taken out of tax altogether. In the next couple of years we hope that everyone earning up to £10,000 will not pay tax at all. In addition I am very pleased that Enterprise Zones are being introduced and have some very strong support from the Treasury and other departments to try and secure this status for Thanet and Sandwich in the next few months.

“Today’s budget is a welcome relief to families, small businesses and charities across South Thanet. We should all welcome the move to pull the 1.1 million people on the lowest incomes out of paying tax altogether. This is fair, rewards work, and means that those that earn the most must pay the most. 330,000 small businesses will pay no rates at all.

“As someone who raises money for local charities by shaking a bucket outside supermarkets I am particularly pleased that the money raised across Thanet and Sandwich will now be able to gain from Gift Aid making our charitable giving go so much further.

“With amongst the highest priced petrol in the country, all of us across South Thanet should welcome the move to stop Labour’s planned petrol duty increase. I have campaigned extensively for this change and am delighted that – under the Coalition - petrol will be 6p cheaper than under Labour’s plans. This is a victory for families and small businesses alike.”

Key points within the budget:

Families
An extra £326 a year for hard working families, while over 1.1 million of the lowest paid have been taken out of tax altogether. This is really important for Thanet and Sandwich.

Petrol will be 6p cheaper than under Labour’s plans. 1 penny per litre cut in fuel duty from 6pm tonight, abolition of Labour’s fuel duty escalator and replacing it with a fair fuel stabiliser that increases tax on North Sea oil companies when production prices are high, and delaying inflation increases this year and next.

£250 million package for first-time buyers.

Council tax freeze will save every family £72 a year.

Small Businesses
A bonfire of regulation – regulations scrapped and Health and Safety measures made sensible.
Small businesses will pay less tax stimulating them to employ more people
An extension of the small business rate relief holiday– over half a million eligible businesses will continue to benefit from reductions in their bills, with approximately 330,000 businesses paying no rates at all.

Charities
Introduction of a new scheme where Gift Aid can be claimed on small donations, up to a total of £5,000 a year, without the need for donors to fill in any forms.
A 10% cut in inheritance tax for estates leaving 10% or more to charity. No beneficiaries will be better off, but we expect charities to gain £300 million.

Elderly
· £140 pension for all new retirees will be introduced in due course.

Pharmaceutical Industry

· An additional £100 million this year for new science facilities, and an increase in the SME rate of Research and Development Tax Credit to 200% from April 2011, and 225% from April 2012. This measure will provide opportunities for Pfizer employees to pursue their own business start-ups.

· The chance for the Pfizer site in Sandwich to apply to be one of 21 new Enterprise Zones with up to 100% business rate discount, new superfast broadband and the potential to use enhanced capital allowances for these zones.