What Does George Osborne's Budget Mean For YOU, Young Person?

You may or may not have heard, but today the budget was announced and it's a pretty big deal.

Waxen-faced Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, was quoted as saying that he planned to 'put the next generation first', but did he?

Here's how the new budget will affect young people.

THE INTRODUCTION OF THE LIFETIME ISA

In terms of young people, millennials, nuLADs - whatever you want to call them - this is probably the biggest announcement to come out of today. Basically, the Government wants you to save money. So, they've pledged that, from April 2017, savers will receive a 25% bonus when they save up to £4,000. This is capped at £1,000 and you can only benefit if you're under 40.

To put it very simply, if you save £4,000 a year, they'll give you £1,000. Sweet. Well, it would be if any of us could afford to save £4,000 a year.

SMOKING IS GOING TO COST YOU (EVEN MORE)

From 6pm tonight (March 16) there will be a 2% above inflation rise in tobacco duty. Time to give up?

THE SUGAR TAX

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If you're partial to the occasional can of Vanilla Coke, sorry buddy. They're going to get more expensive from 2018. Stock up while you can. To be fair, this isn't all bad, especially if you're trying to watch your figure.

But for those who aren't, Coke will soon cost you 24p more per litre.

Jamie Oliver (that bloke who robbed children of Turkey Twizzlers) is into the tax, though. He's come out to praise the Tories on this decision.

SOME SCHOOLS WILL STAY OPEN LONGER; ALL SCHOOLS WILL BE ACADEMIES BY 2020

This applies to England only, as Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own policies. Academies are independent, state-funded schools. They receive their funding directly from central government, rather than through a local authority.

Originally, Labour brought them in with the aim of improve struggling schools, primarily in deprived areas. We don't know much more about Osborne's plans yet.

As for the longer hours, this will apply to a quarter of the nation's schools. Bad luck for anyone who attends those.

IF YOU SELL STUFF ON EBAY OR USE AIRBNB, YOU'RE IN LUCK

The first £1,000 you make will be tax-free when you sell products and services online, or rent your home out online.

via GIPHY

A COUPLE OF OTHER RANDOM POINTS

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• It'll be cheaper to drive into Wales

The tolls on the Severn Road Bridge will be halved from 2018. So if you're travelling to Wales to get absolutely wrecked in Cardiff, it's good news! It's still free to leave.

• The rich will be paying less tax. Cool

The higher 40% rate of tax will start at £45,000 from next year rather than £42,386 - this will rise to £50,000 by 2020.

• If you travel up North, there's (kind of) good news

Osborne has promised Northern travelers road and rail upgrades, new road tunnels, and the trans-Pennine M62.

So there you go, a cheat sheet for the moves that will most likely affect young people.

What do you think?

Words by Mel Ramsay

Topics: government, Jeremy Corbyn, Politics

Mel Ramsay

Mel Ramsay has been a Senior Journalist for Tyla and LADbible since 2015. She started her career writing obituaries and funeral guides online. Since then, her work has been published in a wide variety of national and local news sites. She is part of the BBC's Generation project and has spoken about young people, politics and mental health on television, radio and online. Contact her - [email protected]

@melramsay_