pre-Budget report 2008

Rebecca Atkinson

VAT has been slashed to 15% from 1 December - but what difference will this actually make to your finances?

Rhian Nicholson

Chancellor Alistair Darling has attempted to smooth over the damage the credit crisis has wreaked on smaller businesses

Steve McDowell

For once the nation's economists seem united by a single opinion over the Government's immediate move to slash VAT from 17.5% to 15%.

Steve McDowell

Government borrowing will more than triple in a year in order to pay for tax cuts designed to stimulate the economy and prevent a spiral into depression.

Liam Tarry

The UK's highest earners are perhaps the biggest losers from the pre-Budget report, with those on £150,000 or more set to see income tax increase to 45%.

Chris Thomas

The Chancellor Alistair Darling has unveiled what he says are "powerful incentives" for drivers to turn to more environmentally-friendly vehicles.

Ruth Emery

The pension lifetime allowance has been frozen at £1.8 million for five years, the Chancellor has announced.

Rachel Lacey

The Chancellor Alistair Darling says the Government is doing everything it can to increase the supply of mortgages following last month's recapitalisation of the major banks

Rachel Lacey

Despite repeated calls for action to help the housing market, Alistair Darling did little more than announce the launch of a new lending panel in his pre-Budget report.

Ruth Emery

Pensioners are set to receive a financial boost as early as January 2009 after chancellor Alistair Darling pledged to pump up benefits and the state pension, writes Ruth Emery.

Nathalie Bonney

The Government is giving an extra £1.3 billion towards redundancy training and expanding Jobcentre Plus' services, to combat rising unemployment figures.

Johanna Gornitzki

The child element of Child Tax Credit will increase by £75 above indexation from April next year after the Government decided to bring forward the proposed increase for 2010.

Steve McDowell

The Chancellor's decision to cut VAT may seem like a big call, but what exactly does it mean for you?

Rhian Nicholson

There were few surprises in the Chancellor's speech, as his pre-Budget speech sought the answers to the ease pressure on the country's finances.

Liam Tarry

Alistair Darling has pledged an extra £100m to help people insulate their homes, as part of a range of new measures designed to help people struggling to meet the cost of rising energy bills.

Rhian Nicholson

High earners on six-figure salaries in the UK would still pay less tax than their counterparts in Germany and the US if the top rate of personal income tax was raised to 45%.