Case studies: What the Chancellor did for us

The Family

The Greens

Paul and Helene Green, both 47, and children Amelia, 14, Edward, 11, and Florence, nine.
Jobs: Mr Green is chief executive of energyhelpline.com and his wife is the company finance director.
Home: Rent a six-bedroom house in Marden, Kent.
Status: Married, three children.
Income: £200,000+ combined. £10,300+ per month after tax
Monthly outgoings: £8,850, including £2,750 rent, £2,500 school fees, £850 food and £330 on petrol.
Mr Green said: "The cut in VAT is really going to help us, especially with Christmas coming up, as everything will be that much cheaper. I think all families will welcome this, as the impact will be felt across the board by people on all incomes.
"It seems like a fair thing to do and will probably provide a stimulus for the economy.
"I welcome the move to give money to help households insulate their homes, but as we rent our house I don't know if it will have a direct impact on us. A lot of people live in rented accommodation so the Government must make sure they can take advantage of this.
"The new rate of 45 per cent income tax on those earning more than £100,000 will affect us and I am not that keen on it. It will make affording all those things such as school fees more difficult.
"I don't have a mortgage, although we might buy soon as property has become so cheap."

Unemployed ex-City worker

Jon Belinfante, 41

Job: Investment banker recently
made redundant, looking to return
to the City
Home: Owns a house in East Finchley
Status: Single, no children
Income: £60-a-week unemployment benefit plus remains of £20,000 redundancy pay-off from start of last month. Previously earned a package worth about £80,000
Monthly outgoings: £1,500 including £350 mortgage.
"I was expecting more relief for businesses. I want to see business confidence improve so it's easier for me to get another job. I can't see most businesses going wow, that's really going to help me'. That might have happened if Mr Darling had slashed corporation tax but instead he's just staggered the payments.
"I was a bit shocked about the rise in National Insurance contributions and I'm going to be stung in the future by the higher tax rate for top earners if I get another job and my career progresses.
"The VAT cut just looks like a short-termist gimmick, a ruse. I can't see that really getting people spending again."

Homeowner

Paul Rablen, 28

Job: Corporate banking analyst
Home: Owns a two-bedroom flat in Hackney with a friend
Status: Single, no children
Income: £40,000 to £60,000, or £2,000 to £3,000 per month after tax and pension
Monthly outgoings: £2,500 including £750 mortgage, £200 household bills and £300 towards savings.
"I'm glad they've introduced a three-month repossession holiday. You never know who might lose their job. It's a bit of a safety net to know that, a relief. It will be interesting to see if the VAT cut is passed onto consumers by retailers. It's difficult to cut prices by that amount and given they're discounting massively already it might get lost. If there is a noticeable difference then that could be a psychological boost.
"People in the City have been up in arms about the rise in tax for top earners but I don't think it will have much affect on whether people stay in the City. I'm glad the basic tax relief credit continued. Low earners tend to save relatively less and spend relatively more, which could get things moving."

Small Business

Whizz Education

Richard Marett, 36, chief executive of a company offering online maths tutoring for five to 13-year-olds which is used by 500,000 pupils in 3,000 schools across Britain. Based in Paddington.
Staff: 14
Turnover: £1.5 million a year.
"Cutting VAT will be really helpful but I would like to have seen it cut further and made permanent, rather than for just 13 months. In Singapore for example the equivalent of VAT is just three per cent.
"What was announced today is an improvement but I wonder whether it will achieve the Government's objectives. VAT is a very unfair tax for small businesses — it is a tax to the company before any sales have been made.
"Giving small businesses more access to loans through the small business finance scheme is a good idea. But it will only be effective depending on the level of bureaucracy around getting hold of them.
"And the problem with borrowing money is that sooner or later it has to be returned, and there is the risk that some businesses may default. The news that the corporation tax increase will be deferred is great, but I think the VAT cut is much more significant. However, every little helps."

Medium-sized business

Monitise

Alastair Lukies, 35, chief executive of mobile banking and payments service. Based in the City.
Staff: 110
Turnover: £1.5 million a year.
"This is a drastic situation and the Government has come up with drastic action.
"We will see how the markets react to this but it has given us confidence. It seems like there is real substance here rather than just headline-grabbing statements.
"We welcome the tax exemption for overseas dividends.
"We are a UK-based company but a lot of our revenue comes from overseas.
"We need to look at what effect the VAT cut will have on us. The huge priority should be getting big businesses to continue spending money. There is a lot of carrot on this budget to encourage them, but there needs to be more stick as well.
"Big businesses have been abusing their power and paying bills late or at the last minute, which destroys smaller companies. That needs to stop and will do when confidence is restored."

Low-paid worker

James Kerr, 21

Job: Secondary school teaching assistant, working 27 hours per week
Home: Rents a single room in shared house in Forest Hill
Status: Single
Income: £11,300, or £800 per month after tax
Monthly outgoings: £800, including £330 rent.
"This is my first job after leaving university and it's a virtually impossible wage to live on. I survive thanks to a large overdraft, credit cards and occasional help from my parents. I'm lucky enough to be able
to walk to the school where I work.
"The cut in VAT is all very well and looks dramatic but the main thing that's going to stop people spending is their job security. Fiddling around with a few per cent cut isn't going to do much. Because it doesn't apply to alcohol and tobacco that will hit the poorest hardest as they spend a higher proportion of their incomes on them.
"I'm glad that the basic rate tax benefit's been extended and increased but they shouldn't have abolished the 10p tax rate and hurt low-paid workers in the first place."

Pensioners

The Hendleys

Bob Hendley, 72, and wife Margaret, 69
Job: Retired graphic designer and secretary
Home: Own a four-bedroom house in Edgware
Income: £11,700 a year made up per month of Mr Hendley's state pension, (£604.76), work pension (£131.20), and Mrs Hendley's state pension (£239.12)
Monthly outgoings: gas £13, electricity £65, water £25, food £200, and £1,500 a year for trips to see their daughter in California.
Mr Hendley said: "The pension measures almost felt like an afterthought. They were just tacked on the end. An increase of £5 isn't really going to make any difference with the rising cost of living. We're not gong to feel any richer.
"This VAT cut is nonsense as well. It hurts the poor and helps the rich. Poor people spend the vast proportion of their money on food, which isn't covered by VAT anyway. And then it doesn't apply to petrol, alcohol and tobacco, which they spend more on anyway. It's only going to help the rich who spend enough on VAT goods to make the cut worth it."