Julian Welcomes Chancellor’s Budget as “Good News For Yorkshire”
March 19, 2014
Today in Parliament, Julian Sturdy MP praised George Osbourne’s latest Budget announcement, with its measures to help workers, savers, motorists, local charities, pubs and small businesses. He said “I am delighted by today’s announcement, both on a local and on national level. Locally, I am thrilled that the campaign to help Yorkshire Air Ambulance with its fuel costs, which I raised in Parliament back in 2012, has now been taken up by the Treasury. The Yorkshire Air Ambulance, which saves lives everyday across the county, will benefit from the £325,000 5-year grant to help with the cost of paying VAT on its fuel. The roads around Yorkshire, which take a battering every single year, will also benefit from a new funding stream to repair potholes and I urge local councils to make bids for a slice of the £200 million fund. Motorists also benefit from the latest fuel duty rise to be scrapped. Petrol is now 20 pence lower per litre than it would have been which is a great help to hard-pressed motorists across Yorkshire. The county is renowned across the world for the hospitality of its village pubs and the fine produce of its many small breweries, all of which have will benefit from the Chancellor’s decision to cut the duty on beer for a second year running. I will certainly be having a drink to celebrate the good news”.
The York Outer MP also welcomed developments on a national level, commenting “it is fantastic news that the personal tax allowance will increase to £10,500 next year, up from £6,475 when the Government came to power, saving the average taxpayer over £800 a year. A central part of our long term economic plan is for people to keep more of the money they have earned and not only will over £25 million people benefit from this tax cut, over 3 million of the lowest paid will be lifted out of income tax altogether. Corporation tax will also fall this year to 21%, down from 28% in 2010, before dropping to 20% next year, which will be one of the lowest rates in the western world. By allowing small businesses to benefit from their hard work and keep more of their profits, they will be in a stronger position to employ more staff, which will further strengthen our economic recovery. Tax incentives have been doubled to encourage businesses to reinvest in new equipment and machinery and every business in the country benefit from a £2,000 tax allowance when they employ more people.”
“Finally, savers, who have had a particularly hard time in recent years, will also benefit. ISAs will be made more generous, a new market leading Pensioner Bond will be created, Premium Bond winnings will be increased, and crucially the 10p savings tax will be scrapped. With the Office of Budget Responsibility forecasting strong economic growth rates for the next four years, and with unemployment continuing to fall, the future looks brighter than many predicted. However, the job is far from done and as a proud Yorkshire MP I will continue to fight hard to make sure that the benefits of our economic recovery are shared right across the country, and are not restricted to London and South East alone.”
