Duties

Aviation taxation - per plane duty

The Government will explore changes to aviation tax, including switching from a per-passenger to a per-plane duty. Major changes will be subject to consultation.

Cider duty

The 10% above inflation increase in cider duty announced at the March 2010 Budget is being reversed so that cider duty increases match those of other alcohol products. However, a review of alcohol taxation due in the autumn may amend the definition of ‘cider’.

Landline duty

The duty on landlines (local loops) announced in the Pre-Budget Report 2009 will not proceed.

Financial Services Authority to be disbanded

In the lead-up to the Emergency Budget, Chancellor George Osborne announced his intention to break up the Financial Services Authority (FSA), transferring many of its key regulatory powers to the Bank of England (BoE), and introducing a new Consumer Protection and Markets Authority.

Arguing that the existing tripartite regime involving the FSA, HM Treasury and the BoE had 'utterly failed' to identify and control the rapid and unsustainable increase in debt that was at the heart of the financial crisis, the Chancellor said that by bringing responsibility for micro- and macro-prudential regulation under one roof, such problems would not be repeated.

A new Financial Policy Committee will be created within the BoE which will take on the role of examining the macro issues that threaten economic stability, and taking the appropriate action. With its new combined responsibilities of monetary policy and financial regulation, the BoE is set to become one of the most powerful regulatory bodies in the world.

Bank of England Governor Mervyn King, commenting on the plans, said: 'Just as the role of a central bank in monetary policy is to take the punch bowl away just as the party gets going, its role in financial stability should be to turn down the music when the dancing gets a little too wild'.