Budget 2015

Well, there it is. Mr Osborne has delivered the last budget of the current parliament and he was on rousing form as he rattled off statistic after statistic in what has become a trademark approach over the last five years. He positively basked in his interpretation that all of the statistics proved that Britain was on the up – and proffered  any number of sound bites, mantra-like,  to drive it home – "Britain is walking tall again", "Britain on the rise", (Britain) "the comeback country", the list could go on.

If the positive statements about the economy kept coming, so did the digs at the opposition. He managed to get in "two kitchens", "pink vans" and "fixing the roof while the sun shines", amongst others, and one wondered whether he was preparing for a new career as a stand-up comedian if the election result goes the wrong way.

On the tax front, the big announcement was on the self-assessment front when he announced, "we will abolish the annual tax return altogether."

To help you with the detail on all of the announcements our tax writers and editors have been hard at work throughout the afternoon, evening and night preparing the summaries that tell you not only what has changed and why it is important, but also what it means for you. As always I am indebted to everyone for their hard work tonight – we hope that you find it useful.

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