At-a-glance guide to today's main Budget points

THESE are the main points of today's Budget, presented in the Commons by Chancellor George Osborne in "a very political speech from a man in a very tight economic straitjacket", as the BBC’s political editor Nick Robinson put it... 

Income tax: The personal allowance before any tax has to be paid will be raised to £10,000 from 2014 – a year earlier than forecast. In the short term, it rises to £9,440 on 6 April as planned.

1p off a pint: The annual "duty escalator" is scrapped, knocking 1p off the price of a pint of beer from Sunday night.

3p off petrol: The scheduled 3p-a-litre rise in fuel duty due in September is scrapped.

Tax-free loans: Limit of tax-free loans for commuter season tickets doubled to £10,000.

Housing: New Help-to-Buy scheme includes a Government interest-free loan worth 20 per cent of the value of a new-build house.
 
State pension: The flat-rate £144-a-week pension is to be brought forward to 2016.

Tax evasion: Accountants operating "dodgy" avoidance schemes will be named and shamed as part of a drive to bring in an additional £5bn in unpaid taxes.

Corporation Tax:  The rate will be cut from 21% to 20% from April 2015.

Capital spending: Spending cuts at Whitehall departments will be used to fund £3bn extra spending on infrastructure from 2015/16.

Public sector pay: Increases will be limited to 1% for a further year to 2015/16.

Employment Allowance: New scheme to take £2,000 off the cost of National Insurance contributions of every company from April 2014. Every business will be able to employ one worker on a salary of £22,400, or four employees on the minimum wage, without paying any employer NICs.
 
Deficit: The Deficit has fallen from 11.2% of GDP in 2009/10 to a forecast 7.4% this year. It is expected to fall to 5.9% in 2014/15 and 2.2% by 2017/18.
 
Growth: Britain will avoid a triple-dip recession, the Chancellor claims. Growth is estimated at 0.6% in 2013 and 1.8% in 2014.
 
Employment: Estimates suggest there will be 600,000 more jobs in 2013 than this time last year.  ·