Budget 2014 at a glance....

TREASURY this morning published its 2014 Budget report and the big news was its attempt to get Guernsey's housing market moving by reducing document duty to save buyers £1m. over the next year.

Document duty rates will be cut permanently, but Treasury will also make further temporary reductions until October next year in an effort to boost the market.

If approved, the changes mean the department will miss out on a predicted £500,000 in income each year, with an additional £500,000 lost as a result of the temporary reduction during the next year.

Other key proposals in the report, which will be debated by deputies later this month, include:

- A 2.1% increase in personal income tax allowances, or £200 on the single person's allowance, the same increase as is being recommended for all Social Security Department benefit rates, with the exception of family allowance

- Duty on tobacco to increase by 5.7% (inflation plus 3%). Cigarettes up from £3.69 per pack of 20 to £3.90. It will raise an extra £250,000 a year for the States.

- Duty on alcohol to rise by 5%, increasing tax on a pint of beer by 1.13p, up to 24.42p. It will raise an extra £550,000 a year.

- Fuel duty also up by 5% – an increase of 2.3p per litre to 48.8p per litre, which will raise an additional £750,000 per annum.

- Tax on Real Property to increase by 5% for domestic and commercial property and land, a £9 rise per year for a typical domestic property. The increase will bring in an extra £800,000 per year.

- Departments budgeted to spend £363.2m. next year – a real terms reduction of £9.4m., after inflation is taken into account.