OVER 13,000 Buckinghamshire residents who were paying income tax in 2010 will have stopped paying it altogether next year, figures show.
Changes announced by the Government in the Budget mean from April 2013 people earning £9,205 or less will pay no income tax.
Official data tables show 13,330 people in the county who were paying on their earnings under the last Government will no longer be asked to do so from April 2013.
From then onwards, workers will not pay income tax on the first £9,205 they earn because of the increase in the threshold.
The policy to raise the personal allowance to £10,000 was one of the key General Election 2010 pledges made by the Liberal Democrats and was written into the coalition agreement with the Conservatives.
Statistics show that from April next year in Wycombe 3,770 will have been removed from paying income tax since the last General Election, with 2,410 Chiltern residents and 1,470 in South Bucks also benefiting.
From this April, 2,060 Wycombe residents will have stopped paying on their earnings since Labour left power.
The figures for Chiltern and South Bucks are 950 and 750 respectively.
Figures also show that 195,300 Buckinghamshire residents will have an income tax cut in 2013/14.
The threshold rise has been somewhat overshadowed by the cut in the top rate of tax from 50p to 45p, with critics saying this made the Budget one for the rich.
However, The Liberal Democrats have claimed the basic rate income tax move as a major victory, securing one of the party's key commitments made at the General Election.
Cllr Trevor Snaith, Lib Dem Leader at Wycombe District Council, said the 2012 Budget brings the total tax cut for basic rate tax payers to £546 since 2010, with savings of £220 next year, and £130 this year.
He said: “This budget shows the Liberal Democrats delivering in government.
“As a result of our Budgets, people working full time on the minimum wage, will have seen their income tax bill cut in half. This is of great benefit to the majority of the residents of this district.”
However, Cllr Victoria Groulef, Leader of Labour at WDC, said some Wycombe residents would be worse off from the Budget.
She highlighted the impact on pensioners and new rules on working tax credits – which she said will affect Wycombe taxpayers worse than neighbouring authority areas.
“This budget will have a huge impact on hard working families across our district, where the cost of living is particularly high,” she said.
