Osborne bids to woo voters with tax cuts as election looms

In a deeply political budget seven weeks ahead of the general election, British chancellor George Osborne offered financial goodies to taxpayers, savers, home-buyers and the regions of Britain, while doing his best to blunt Labour’s lines of attack in what is expected to be the most tightly-fought campaign of modern times.

He delivered an effective tax cut to 27m voters — and took 3.7m out of income tax altogether — by announcing rises to £11,000 in the personal allowance and £43,300 in the threshold for the 40p higher rate over the next two years.

He abolished tax on the vast majority of savings accounts with a new £1,000 tax-free allowance, and offered government help worth up to £3,000 for first-time home-buyers saving for a deposit, through the creation of a new Help to Buy Isa.