But the lack of big personal finance news disguised a significant shift in the way we are all taxed. There are now effectively two tax systems at work - one that ttakes (via income tax) and one that gives (via tax credits).
The Chancellor said that income tax thresholds and allowances would rise in line with inflation, but with the increased personal allowance for those aged 65 and over increasing by the rise in earnings. The tax-free personal allowance for income tax rose to £4,895 for 2005/06, an increase of £150. For pensioners aged 65-74, the personal allowance is now £7,090 (up £260 from £6,830), rising to £7,220 for those who are 75 or over (up £270 from £6,950).
The starting rate of tax of 10 per cent tax is now payable on the next £2,090 (previously £2,020) above the tax-free personal allowance. The basic rate income tax band, payable at 22 per cent, now applies to earnings between the £2,090 threshold and £32,400 (£2,020 - £31,400 for 2004/05). The higher rate of 40 per cent is now payable on earnings above £32,400 (£31,400 for 2004/05).
There was good news for savers as the Chancellor bowed to pressure and extended the £7,000 tax-free Individual Savings Account (ISA) contribution limit until 2010, although tax credits on dividends held within ISAs will not be reinstated.
The government is to spend £4m promoting the simple, low-cost savings and investment products at the heart of its plans to close the country's £27bn annual savings gap. The products were recommended in a review of the savings industry commissioned by the Chancellor three years ago
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The Chancellor announced the raising of the starting rate for stamp duty land tax from £60,000 to £120,000 for all buyers. Tax will now be paid 1 per cent on properties worth between £120,000 and £250,000. Below £120,000, purchases will be free of the tax, removing one of tghe biggest costs associated with buying a home.
The annual capital gains tax (CGT) exemption rose to £8,500 (up £300 from £8,200). Brown's swipe at tax avoidance was not as wide-ranging for individuals as many observers had expected. The Budget also noted that disposal of a principal private residence will continute to be exempt from
The Chancellor also announced a prospective crackdown on so-called 'Qualified Investor Schemes' (QIS) - investment schemes used by wealthy investors to cut their capital gains tax bills. When the QIS investment managers sell shares at a profit, there is no CGT to pay. Investors only pay CGT whebn they cash in their holdings. Investors with a significant holding could in future be subject to income tax on any annual increase in the value of their units.
Families fearing tax beyond the grave were pleased that the Chancellor raised the inheritance tax (IHT) threshold beyond expectations, with the announcement of a 14.5 per cent rise over three years from April 2005. But those hoping for comprehensive IHT reform were left disappointed.
At the moment, estates with a chargeable value of £275,000 or more on death are liable for inheritance tax payable at 40 per cent on al assets above this figure. The threshold rose by 5.7 per cent. In the following tax year, it will climb to £285,000, a rise of 3.6 per cent, and to £300,000 in 2007/08, a further 5.2 per cent rise. New rules on 'pre-owned assets' mean there may be an income tax charge for those who continue living in their home if they have deliberately moved the property out of their estate.
And Gordon Brown has consistently raised the income tax take so that he can hand it back in the form of credits to the less well off.
This is a fundamental tenet of the Chancellor's redistribution philosophy. As he said in his Budget speech, 'The best way to do most to help low- and middle-income families is not through a further rise in personal tax allowances but through tax credits which offer the best family tax cut'.
The Chancellor announced more perks for working families on low incomes. Payments for children under the child tax credit will rise in line with earnings over the coming three years, an estimated total increase of 13 per cent.
The Chancellor did not mention it in his speech, but in the fine print there is a clear declaration that from 5 December 2005, same-sex couples who have registered in a civil partnership will be treated in the same way as a married couple for tax purposes. The biggest benefit of this change is that civil partners can transfer assets, such as property and shares, between them without incurring capital gains tax (CGT) or inheritance tax (IHT). This is epecially significant when one partner dies, as it allows the surviving one to continue living in their home without being potentially liable for tax. The one sticking point is that married couples can have only one principal private residence that is exempt from CGT. This means that same-sex couples must consider all the implications of a civil parnership.
All pensioners will receive a £200 council tax rebate in the autumn. They will also be given a £200 winter fuel payment, while the over-80s will get £300 - the same as last winter. All pensioners will now receive a free bus pass for off-peak local services.
The Chancellor once again raised the state pension only in line with inflation. As announced in the Pre-Budget Report in December, it went up by £2.45 a week to £82.05 for a single person and by £3.95 a week to £131.20 for a couple. The Chancellor
did, however, announce a rise in the pension credit - a top-up income for the UK's poorest pensioners - by 13 per cent over the next three years.
Once again motorists were given a reprieve. The Chancellor promised to delay an increase in petrol duty until September. He froze vehicle excise duty (car tax) for medium-sized and smaller, more environmentally friendly vehicles. But those who drive around by way of a gas-guzzling sports utility vehicle excise duty for petrol-driven cars rise from £160 to £165.
Cigarettes went up by 7p a packet - slightly less than in last year's Budget. The Chancellor added another penny on the price of a pint and 4p on a bottle of wine but froze duty on spirits. Duties on cider and sparkling wine were also frozen.
Shopaholics and frequent flyers Trans-Atlantic bargain hunters should be pleased that the Chancellor confirmed that he has written to the European Commission requesting that the tax-free limit on goods brought into the UK from outside the European Union be increased from £145 to £1,000. Airline travellers will also be happy that he has frozen air passenger duty.
