Ten ways the budget will affect your pocket

1. On top of yet another petrol price hike, you’ll be paying 23c a litre more for fuel.

2. Your sins will cost you more. Cigarettes will go up by 60c a packet, beer by 7.5c per 340ml can, wine by 15c per 750ml bottle, and ciders and alcopops by 7.3c per 330ml.

And if you thought you could drink your troubles away with the hard stuff, you were wrong. Spirits will go up by R3.60 per 750ml bottle, meaning that R39.60 of what you pay goes to taxes.

3. If you’re young and looking for a job, you may benefit from the tax incentives given by government to companies to give you a job. The youth wage subsidy seems to be off the table, which means Cosatu is likely to be happy.

4. Social grants are going up, but not by much. Old age and disability grants increase in April from R1 200 a month to R1 260, foster care grants will go up from R770 to R800 and child support from R290 to R300.

5. All retired people will get the R1 260 government old age grant by 2016. The means test will be scrapped so that people aren’t discouraged from saving for their old age.

6. Carbon tax will be phased in for industries from January 1 2015 and the electricity levy will be phased out.

7. If you’re a small business owner, you’ll be getting some tax relief.

8. Personal income tax relief of R7 billion is proposed, together with adjustments to the medical tax credit and other monetary thresholds, amounting to about R350 million.

9. Taxes will not be going up this year, but a tax review committee headed by Judge Dennis Davis will be appointed soon.

10. Your taxes are appreciated. Minister Pravin Gordhan thanked the “millions of honest taxpayers” and said government owed them “a debt of gratitude and, more importantly, a commitment to spend that money wisely, efficiently and effectively”.