Who are the winners and losers from the Budget?

The Budget will make some people’s wallets feel a bit more substantial, while others may be left disappointed.

Here is a look at some of the Budget’s winners and losers:

Winners:

– People struggling to access affordable credit.

Some borrowers end up paying the “poverty premium” to take out credit as they struggle to access mainstream loans – but the Budget has unveiled plans that could help them.

The Government, working with leading debt charities and the banking industry, will launch a feasibility study to help design a pilot for a no-interest loans scheme early next year.

– First-time buyers.

Measures announced include an extension of stamp duty relief for first-time buyers purchasing shared ownership properties. From April 2021, a new Help to Buy equity loan scheme will run for two years before closing in March 2023.

– Workers.

From April 2019 the National Living Wage will increase from £7.83 an hour to £8.21. The Government has said this will benefit around 2.4 million workers, and is a £690 annual pay rise for a full-time worker.

– People liable for income tax.

The personal allowance – the amount people can earn before they have to start paying income tax – will increase by a further £650 in April 2019 to £12,500. The increase will come a year earlier than planned, and will be maintained in 2020. This means a basic rate taxpayer will pay £1,205 less tax in 2019-20 than in 2010-11.

Meanwhile, the amount people will have to earn before they pay tax at 40% will increase from £46,350 to £50,000 in April 2019. This means that in 2019-20, there will be nearly one million fewer higher rate taxpayers than in 2015-16.

– Motorists.

In 2019, fuel duty will remain frozen for the ninth year in a row, saving the average driver £1,000 since 2010. Road users blighted by potholes in their area may also get some relief – as local authorities will receive £420 million to fix potholes on roads and renew bridges and tunnels, and £150 million is available to improve local traffic hotspots such as roundabouts.

– Drinkers of beer, cider and spirits.

The cost of a pint of beer will be 2p lower than if duty had risen by inflation. The freeze also amounts to a saving of 1p on a pint of cider and a 30p on a bottle of scotch or gin.

As well as bringing cheer to consumers, the industry is also toasting the announcement. The British Beer & Pub Association has said it will save brewers, pubs and pub-goers £110 million.

Losers:

– Nuisance callers.

As part of efforts to tackle nuisance calls, National Trading Standards will receive further funding to extend a project providing telephone call blocking technology to vulnerable people.

Cold calling is a common method used by fraudsters to trick people into handing over their pension money. The Government said it will shortly be implementing legislation to make pensions cold calling illegal.

– Isa savers hoping to be able to put more away.

The adult Isa annual subscription limit for 2019-20 will remain unchanged at £20,000. But for child Isa savers, the annual subscription limit for Junior Isas for 2019-20 will be uprated to £4,368.

– Smokers.

Duty rates on all tobacco products will increase by two percentage points above RPI inflation until the end of this Parliament, the Budget documents said.

– Technology giants.

Online tech giants are set to be slapped with a new “digital services” tax amid measures aimed at helping the high street. A 2% UK digital services tax will come into force in April 2020 and is expected to raise £400 million a year.

It will only be paid by profitable companies which generate at least £500 million a year in global revenues, and applies to income which firms generate through providing search engines, social media platforms and online marketplaces.

– Wine lovers.

While beer fans may be happy with Monday’s Budget, wine drinkers may have less reason to raise a glass. The Wine and Spirits Trade Association (WSTA) has estimated that the duty rise by inflation imposed on wine will hike the price of a bottle by 7p on still wines and by an extra 9p on sparkling and fortified wine.

Andy Fyffe, pubs lead at EY, said: “With wine prices already impacted by the decline in sterling, adding 7p to a bottle of still wine and 9p to a bottle of sparkling may encourage wine drinkers to try another tipple of choice.”