The IFS’s briefing on the Budget: Four things we learned

1. Two million more top-rate taxpayers 

The number of people paying tax at the 40p or 45p rates is to increase by two million under the coalition, going from 3.3 million in 2010-11 to 5.3 million in 2015-16. If the coalition had stuck with the tax policy they’d inherited, there would be 1.3 million fewer top-rate payers at the general election.

2. Permanent giveaways, temporary taxes

At the Budget, George Osborne promised £4.9 billion of permanent giveaways, including another increase in the personal allowance to £10,500 from April 2015, an increase in ISA limits to £15,000, a reduction in the tax on savings income and reductions in alcohol duties. But there were only £0.7 billion worth of permanent tax increases to pay for them – the rest will be covered by bringing tax forward and cutting more.

Measures such as taking money from tax avoiders and making them claim it back through the courts if they think they’ve been unfairly treated and changing tax on pensions drawdowns will raise money in the short-term, but are at best neutral overall.