The bite-size budget: The good, the bad and the scrumpy

The good news The £149bn deficit will almost disappear in four years … if all goes to plan. The bad news Where to start? Spending cuts of 25% or more. Scorched earth approach to welfare. Public sector pay freeze. Multiple tax rises. George says it is unavoidable. The 'make the poor pay' measure VAT is up from 17.5% to 20%, one of the most regressive taxes in the toolkit. Something to celebrate No new duties on alcohol, tobacco or fuel, 10% increase on cider is scrapped – a win for the Somerset lobby. Cunning wheeze The clampdown on a tax dodge by tobacco firms who have made gaspers longer. More than 8cm (excluding filter) will count as more than one cigarette. The quiet sigh of relief A £2bn a year levy is imposed on the banks. The people who got us into this mess were expecting more like £5bn. Unexpected budget rewrite Remember Labour's tax relief for the video games industry? It's history. Little something for George and David's donors A dwindling rate of corporation tax. Little something for Nick Allowances for basic-rate taxpayers up by £1,000, taking 880,000 out of tax. The … er, joke 'The reduction [in cider duty] will come into effect at the end of this month, just in time to celebrate England's progress to the quarter finals, or else to drown our sorrows.'