Midnight April 22

Alcohol duty to rise by 2 per cent

Tobacco duty to rise by 2 per cent

May 2009

Motorists will be given £2,000 to scrap cars older than ten years in exchange for purchasing a new vehicle.

September 2009

Fuel duty will increase by 2p a litre

October 2009

Annual Isa limit increases to £10,500 for over-50s.

November 2009

Capital exemption on pension credit increased, raising the ceiling from £6,000 to £10,000.

December 2009

Stamp duty holiday, on properties worth £175,000 or less, comes to an end.

VAT will return from 15 per cent to 17.5 per cent

January 2010

All people aged 25 years or young will be given a job or training if they have been unemployed for 12 months or more.

April 2010

Tax rate for people earning over £150,000 a year will rise from 40 per cent to 50 per cent.

Child tax credit will increase by £20.

Children with disabilities will get an extra £100 in their Child Trust Fund and children with severe disabilities will receive an extra £200.

Annual Isa limit increases to £10,500 for those under 50.

Pensions will rise by 2.5 per cent even if the RPI measure of inflation continues to fall below zero.

May 2010

Scrappage scheme comes to an end.

November 2010

Help for loss making companies, allowing them to reclaim taxes made on profits in the past three years, comes to an end.

April 2011

Anyone who earns more than £150,000 a year will have their tax relief reduced incrementally from 40 per cent to 20 per cent if they earn more than £180,000.