The stamp duty threshold is to rise from £125,000 to £250,000, and for first-time buyers it will rise from £300,000 to £425,000, Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has announced in his mini-budget.

"We’re going to increase the value of the property on which first-time buyers can claim relief, from £500,000 to £625,000,” Kwarteng added.

“The steps we’ve taken today mean 200,000 more people will be taken out of paying stamp duty altogether. This is a permanent cut to stamp duty, effective from today."

The Chancellor also announced that the government will cut the basic rate of income tax to 19p in April 2023 – one year early.

“That means a tax cut for over 31 million people in just a few months’ time,” he stated. “That means we will have one of the most competitive and pro-growth income tax systems in the world.”

The Chancellor is also abolishing the top rate of income tax. The highest rate of income tax is currently 45% and paid by those earning over £150,000.

"From April 2023 we will have a single higher rate of income tax of 40%. This will simplify the tax system and make Britain more competitive," Kwarteng said.

On the issue of National Insurance, Kwarteng stated that the 1.25 percentage point rise will be reversed from 6 November. He also outlined that the UK's corporate tax rate will not rise to 25%, instead remaining at 19%.

The mini-budget confirmed plans to "accelerate" reforms to the pensions charge cap, in an effort to "unlock" pension investments into UK assets and high-growth businesses.

The change aims to give defined contribution (DC) pension schemes the "clarity and flexibility" to increase investment into UK businesses and productive assets, and to deliver higher returns for savers.

Kwarteng stated: “To drive growth we need new sources of capital investment, to that end I can announce that we will accelerate reforms to the pension charge cap so that it will no longer apply to well-designed performance fees.

"This will unlock pension fund investments into UK assets and innovate high growth businesses.

"It will benefit savers and increase growth, and we will provide up to £500m to support new innovative funds and attract billions of additional pounds into UK science and technology scale ups.”

The government plans to introduce a new Long-Term Investment for Technology & Science (LIFTS) competition, which will provide up to £500m to support new funds designed to catalyse investment from pensions schemes and other investors into the UK’s science and technology businesses.

The government previously confirmed that it would proceed with proposals to exclude performance fees from the 0.75 per cent charge cap on defined contribution (DC) default arrangements, despite industry concerns that this could risk undermining member protections.

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