Stamp duty is to be abolished for all first time buyers of shared ownership properties valued up to £500,000 applied retrospectively, Chancellor Philip Hammond has said today.

Delivering his Budget, Hammond said first time buyers are at an 11-year high and has announced a further £500m for the housing infrastructure fund, to unlock 650,000 new homes.

The tax-free personal allowance is rising to £12,500 in April 2019, and the higher rate threshold for income tax is rising to £50,000 in April 2019. A total of one million fewer people will pay the higher rate than in 2015/16.

On the issue of Universal Credit, Hammond said he is increasing all existing universal credit work allowances by £1,000 a year.

Furthermore, from April, the Chancellor said the National Living Wage will rise again, by 4.9%, from £7.83 to £8.21, handing a full-time worker a further £690 annual pay increase and taking his or her total pay-rise, since the introduction to over £2,750 a year.

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